118 EESOUECES OF CALIFORNIA. 



seated yourself with your back against a tree, and have re- 

 mained for a time as immovable as the trunk against which 

 you lean, you will soon see sundry little heads protruding from 

 the burrows, with as many pairs of eyes and ears skilled to 

 detect the least sign of danger from then* equally-feared ene- 

 mies, the coyote, the Calil'ornian vulture, the red-shouldered 

 and red-tailed hawk, and man himself If, however, your si- 

 lence and quietness persuade them that you are none of these, 

 they will swarm forth from their holes, and at first timidly, 

 but, gaining confidence, more fearlessly, engage in all the 

 sports and antics for which the sciuridce are noted, and in 

 which none excel the species under consideration. It is a 

 l^retty sight, and one to which I have often treated myself, to 

 sit down quietly under these old oaks, and watch the squirrels 

 running about over the grass and trees, gambolling and play- 

 ing together. As far as the eye could reach through the vista» 

 the sprightly movements of these innocent animals could be 

 discerned." 



The two species are called Beechey's spermophile (S2^ermO' 

 philus heecheyi) and Douglas's spermophile {Spermo2yhilus 

 douglasii). The size, habits, and general appearance of the 

 two species are the same, but they differ in the color of a stripe 

 along the spine from the base of the head to the middle of the 

 back: in Beechey's spermophile it is yellowish-hoary, in Doug- 

 las's it is dark-brown. The former species is found very abun- 

 dantly south of the straits of Carquinez; the latter north of it, 

 and fewer in number. 



Beechey's spermophiles are among the most formidable ene- 

 mies of the farmer in those districts where they make their 

 homes. They increase very rapidly in the vicinity of farms, 

 and do great damage in grain-fields and gardens ; they eat 

 grain and garden vegetables in all stages of their growth; 

 they peel young fruit-trees and vines ; they are, in short, dan- 

 gerous to nearly every thing that is cultivated. They are very 

 industrious, and lay up large stores for the winter, spending 

 several hours every pleasant summer's day in gathering food. 



