WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



brought home a flying-squirrel family, and, hav- 

 ing no cage handy, put them into a bureau-drawer 

 for the night. In the morning the old one was 

 gone, and the kindly naturalist was left to nurse 

 the kittens as best he could. They lived and seemed 

 to thrive, although surprisingly little of the milk 

 he gave them was consumed ; but the mystery was 

 presently solved. ''A few evenings afterwards,'' 

 he says, ''we were surprised and delighted to see 

 the mother glide through the open window and 

 enter the still open drawer; in a moment she was 

 nestled with her young. She had not forsaken 

 them, but visited them nightly.'' 



Nothing can be prettier as pets, when restrained 

 from becoming a nuisance by multiplication and 

 mischief. All day they remain quiet and usually 

 sleep — in your pocket, if you are willing. It is 

 amusing to watch one preparing for a doze by plac- 

 ing its head between its fore-feet, and then delib- 

 erately kneeling over until its head is back be- 

 tween its thighs and its limbs are enwrapped in 

 cloak and tail, so that it is nothing but a soft, round 

 ball of mouse - colored and creamy fur. When 

 dusk falls, however, it wakes up, and all the even- 

 ing is exceedingly active and playful. Dr. Mer- 

 riam tells of one which, when placed upon a table, 



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