114 MAMMALIA. 



Squirrel in his trap, instead of the valuable fur for which it was set. 

 But if, instead of consulting the hunter's interests, we take another 

 view of the case, it is easy to see that the Chickaree is a good friend 

 to the martin. He furnishes the latter with food of an exceptionally 

 agreeable kind, and though it cost him his life, takes great pains to 

 discover and spring the traps set for the martin's destruction. 



He is not always to be found in equal numbers, but is influenced 

 in a marked degree by the beechnut crop. In seasons when mast is 

 plentiful there seems to be a Squirrel for every tree, bush, stump, 

 and log in the entire Wilderness, besides a number left over to 

 fill possible vacancies. When, on the other hand, the nut crop has 

 been a failure, a corresponding diminution in the numbers of Squir- 

 rels is observable, and they are sometimes actually scarce.* Hence 

 it is clear that w^hile the diet of the Red Squirrel is varied, his staple 

 commodity is the beechnut, the yield of which in any year deter- 

 mines his abundance in the succeeding winter and spring. That 

 he migrates, on a small scale at least, is a fact concerning which there 

 can be no reasonable doubt : on any other hypothesis we are at a 

 loss to account for the suddenness of his increase and decrease over 

 certain areas of large extent, and find it difficult to explain why he is 

 sometimes met with in numbers swimmingr our lakes and rivers, al- 

 ways in one direction. 



As mio-ht be inferred from the boreal distribution of this animal, 

 he is the hardiest of our squirrels. Not only does he inhabit regions 

 where the rigors of Arctic winter are keenly felt, but, refusing to 

 hibernate, he remains active throughout the continuance of excessive 



* To be more explicit : The yield of beechnuts was good in the fall of i88r. In October and 

 November of that year I found Red Squirrels abounding in all parts of the region traversed — from 

 the Black River Valley to the Saranacs and Tupper's Lakes. Dr. F. H. Hoadley, who spent the win- 

 ter at Big Moose Lake, informs me that they continued in undiminished numbers throughout the 

 months of January, February, and March, proving a serious grievance to the trapper. The next 

 fall, that of 1882, the nut crop failed (as it always does here on the alternate years), and I found 

 but few Red Squirrels in the Adirondacks in October and November. As the winter advanced 

 they became less and less common, and in January I did not see a single one, and but two of their 

 tracks, while on a snow-shoe tramp from Big Otter to Big Moose Lake. 



