1264 



THE RODENTS 



to have no other object in view than to indulge a playful propensity." In America 

 the flying squirrels breed early in April. 



The American flying squirrel, if taken sufficiently young, can be readily and 

 speedily tamed, and forms a most charming pet. Indeed, it is said that they be- 

 come tame and thoroughly confiding much sooner than any other kind of wild crea- 

 ture. When going to sleep, a specimen kept by Professor F. H. King was in the 

 habit of first placing its nose upon the table, or other surface upon which it hap- 

 pened to be standing, and then walking forward and at the same time rolling itself 

 up, until the nose almost protruded from between the hind-legs. The tail was then 

 curved in a horizontal coil around the feet, so that the whole animal appeared to 

 form a complete ball of soft fur. 



One of the smallest representatives of these animals is the pygmy flying squirrel 



AMERICAN FLYING SQUIRREL. 

 (One-half natural size.) 



(S. spadiceus), from Arakan and Cochin-China, in which the length of the head and 

 body is only about five inches, while the tail is half an inch shorter. This species is 

 chestnut red above, with the basal portions of the hair black, and white beneath. 

 The polatouche, or Siberian flying squirrel (S. volans] is about six inches in length, 

 with the upper parts of the body in summer tawny brown, and the under parts pure 

 white; the tail being grayish above and rufous beneath. Extinct representatives of 

 these flying squirrels have recently been recognized from the Middle Tertiary 

 deposits of Europe, and it is probable that the genus is likewise represented in the 

 corresponding rocks of North America. 



The larger flying squirrels (Pteromys), of which an example is represented in 

 our colored plate, in addition to their superior dimensions, are distinguished from 

 the preceding by the greater relative width of the flank membrane, by the presence 



