132 MAMMALIA. 



chosen, and everything was in readiness the night before. At 

 daybreak the hunt commenced, and it ended only with the 

 setting of the sun. Then the participants gathered at some ren- 

 dezvous previously agreed upon, where a bountiful supper was in 

 waiting. So many Squirrels had been killed that the hunters could 

 not possibly carry them, hence the tails alone were preserved. These 

 were then counted in order to ascertain which side had killed the 

 greater number, the defeated party meeting the expense of the ban- 

 quet. This was the "Squirrel hunt" of our forefathers. But the 

 time when these animals could be ranked among the enemies of the 

 farmer has long since passed away, probably never to return. And 

 yet, for some unaccountable reason, the "Squirrel hunts" still con- 

 tinue — in name at least — but they have degenerated into the most 

 despicable of "pot-hunts. " Not only are the Squirrels slain wher- 

 ever found, though innocent of the deeds for which they were origi- 

 nally persecuted, but large numbers of our insectivorous birds are 

 likewise destroyed, and for no other reason than because each counts 

 a certain tally in the reckoning that determines the victorious party ! 



The Gray Squirrel is easily tamed, if captured early enough, and 

 being one of the most intelligent of our native mammals, makes a 

 desirable pet, and may be allowed entire freedom of movement. The 

 main objection to it is its tendency to gnaw objects about the 

 premises. 



In the Adirondack region its nest is invariably concealed within 

 the hollow of some tree or limb, while in more temperate quarters it 

 is commonly built on the outside, like that of the crow, which it 

 closely resembles, and is placed either in a fork or at the point where 

 a large branch leaves the trunk. Audubon and Bachman, and other 

 writers, speak of these latter as " summer nests," affirming that the 

 Squirrels spend the winter and bring forth their young in the hollows 

 of trees. My experience proves the incorrectness of this statement, 

 in certain localities at least ; for, in southern Connecticut, in the 

 southern part of New York State (Westchester County), and in 



