126 MAMMALIA. 



tree, yet several often remained and would allow a near approach 

 without manifesting alarm. They were extremely fond of music (in 

 the most comprehensive sense of the term), and it affected them in a 

 peculiar manner. Some were not only fascinated, but actually spell- 

 bound, b\' the music-box or guitar. And one particularly weak- 

 minded individual was so unrefined in his taste that if I advanced 

 slowly, whistling " Just before the Battle, Mother,'' in as pathetic a 

 tone as I could muster for the occasion, he would permit me even to 

 stroke his back, sometimes expressing his pleasure by making a low 

 purring sound. This was a Gray, and I several times approached and 

 stroked him as above described. I once succeeded in getting near 

 enough to a Black to touch him, whereupon he instantly came to his 

 senses and fled. When listening to music they all acted in very 

 much the same way. They always sat bolt upright, inclining a little 

 forward (and if eating a nut were sure to drop it), letting the fore- 

 paws hang listlessly over the breast, and, turning the head to one side 

 in a bewildered sort of a way, assumed a most idiotic expression. 



Those who have observed the habits of this species in summer 

 must have noticed their propensit}' for burying nuts just beneath the 

 surface, in various parts of the woods. They do not, so far as I am 

 aware, make a great accumulation in any one place, but dig a 

 thousand little holes, plant a nut or two in each, scrape a few leaves 

 over the spot and hurry off, as if afraid some one would discover the 

 treasure. In winter this habit is almost equally marked, and the first 

 thing a Squirrel thinks of after his hunger is satisfied is to secrete a 

 portion of the food remaining at his disposal. In accomplishing this 

 he tunnels into the snow in various directions, hiding- some of the 

 surplus provision in each excavation. Many persons who have 

 observed this habit in summer regard it as an idle pastime, and ques- 

 tion if the Squirrel ever finds the nuts again, knowing that he could 

 never remember the exact positions of so many. But those who 

 have kept tame Squirrels must have been struck with the remarkable 

 certainty and quickness with which they detect the whereabouts of 



