1 24 MAMMALIA. 



enemy appeared. As he advances they rotate slowly about the 

 trunk, always keeping on the farther side, so that the body of the tree 

 remains between them. Even if he knows that a Squirrel is on a 

 certain tree it is doubtful if he gets a shot. A momentary glimpse 

 of its ears or a part of its tail constitutes all he is likely to discover 

 as he walks round the tree. 



While watching a bird I once noticed what seemed to be a little 

 tuft of hair protruding from the side of an ash sapling near by. On 

 going nearer, I perceived the object to be the tip of a Gray Squirrel's 

 tail. The animal was clinging vertically to the trunk, hugging it so 

 closely that this bit of hair was the only part visible from the ground 

 beneath, though where he lay the trunk was not four inches in 

 diameter. Not wanting the Squirrel, I fired at the bird, and to my 

 astonishment the former came tumbling headlong to the ground, 

 almost at my very feet — an illustration of the effect of terror upon a 

 sensitive animal. He did not tarry long, however, but in a twinkling 

 was off and up another tree. One summer, several years ago, I 

 surprised a Gray Squirrel on the ground in the edge of an open field, 

 and chased him up a large hemlock that stood by itself in the clear- 

 ing. Imagine my surprise to see him run out on a limb, fully eighty 

 feet high, and leap to the ground, striking more than fifty feet from 

 the base of the tree. Before I could reach the spot he had disap- 

 peared in the adjacent forest. 



In winter, when the trees and branches are coated with ice, I have 

 several times seen these Squirrels fall nearly a hundred feet, landing 

 in the snow, but never knew one to be injured by the accident. But 

 at such times they usually proceed with great caution and do not 

 attempt to make leaps of any great length. In fact, during the con- 

 tinuance of extreme cold they do not venture out at all. My obser- 

 vations on this point are very full, and extend over a period of years. 

 In winters that follow good yields of nuts they are usually well-con- 

 ditioned, and seldom appear, in any numbers, when the temperature 

 is below -8° C. (17.6"^ F.). It must be remembered, however, that 



