September, l'J45 



Brown & Yeagkr: Squirrels in Illinois 



521 



oaks, walnuts and yellow poplar, reserving and timbered areas. Many of the scat- 

 only a few hickories per acre. tered Osage orange trees occurring in 

 Stand composition in high quality squir- Illinois pastures and woodlots are believed 

 rel range must, however, consist of more to have originated in this manner. Squir- 

 than acorn and nut species, notwithstand- rels are probably responsible for others. 



Fig. 39. — Mixed hardwood stand, Piatt County. This forest type, common in Illinois, offers 

 one of the best year around habitats for squirrels. 



ing the essential function of these groups 

 in producing food staples. Spring and 

 summer food species are needed, since 

 mast is not available until midsummer or 

 later. Highly important are buds and 

 seeds of elms and maples, the first green 

 food of the \'ear; mulberries, which tend 

 to replace buds and seeds in the diet in 

 May and which supply a staple food 

 throughout July ; and black cherries, wnld 

 plums, serviceberries and similar fruits, all 

 of which become available in summer. 



The mulberry is especially useful be- 

 cause it not only offers an attractive food 

 during a food-deficient period, but is shade 

 tolerant and grows and produces well un- 

 der a variety of site conditions. It appears 

 to do best on moist, fertile, riverbottom 

 soils. 



Osage orange trees in woodlots or other 

 forested areas provide a good food re- 

 source. Cattle ma\- eat Osage orange 

 fruits during the winter and thus scatter 

 viable seeds in droppings over woodlots 



Brambles, particularly blackberries and 

 raspberries, improve the food resources of 

 any squirrel habitat, as does adjacent corn. 



Hedgerows and Fencerows. — In 

 farm localities, or in an\' region where 

 woodland occupies only a small acreage, 

 hedgerows and fencerows may constitute 

 a very appreciable part of the squirrel 

 habitat (Whitaker 1939). Even in more 

 heavily wooded localities, hedgerows con- 

 necting two woodlots or stands, or offering 

 shelter along cornfields or bramble patches, 

 represent a valuable feature of the 

 range. The most common black prairie 

 squirrel habitat is the Osage orange-corn- 

 soybean combination, supplemented in 

 some cases by food- and cavity-bearing 

 walnuts, oaks and maples, usually near a 

 farmstead. 



Although of very low carrying capacity 

 for the total acreage involved, this type of 

 habitat is in some respects satisfactory for 

 fox squirrels, as is attested by the generally 

 e.xcellent condition of animals collected in 



