Chap. 2. 



QUADRUPEDS OF VERMONT. 



45 



THE GRAY SOUIRREI. 



THE BLACK SCiL'IRREL. 



their holes by closing the passage be- 

 tween themselves and the surHice of the 

 ground and spend the winter, like bears, 

 in a torpid state. ■> 



The Woodclinck is a cleanly animal, 

 is capable of being tamed, in which state 

 it becomes playful and fond of attention. 

 It is a low-set, clunis}- animal, and when 

 the retreat to his hole is cut off, he will 

 boldly face a dog in battle, and is fully a 

 match for one of his own size. His bite, 

 with his long and projecting incisors, is 

 very severe. The female produces from 

 four to six at a litter. The weight of a 

 Woodchuck of the largest size in Ver- 

 mont when fat is 10 or 11 pounds. Its 

 flesh is sometimes eaten, but is not much 

 esteemed. Sometimes called Ground Hog. 



Genus Sciurus. — Linnccus. 



Generic Characters. — Teeth 22 — Incis- 

 ors 2. no canines, grinders 5..^ The upper in- 

 cisors are flat in front and wedjjiNsliape at the ex- 

 tremity, the lower are pointed and compres.'jcd 

 laterally. The grinders are tubercular. Body 

 small and elongated : head small ; ears erect : 

 eyes large ; fore feet wiih fiiir Iocs and a tubercle 

 instead of a thiunb ; himl (eet with five lotitr toes- 

 all furnished with long hooked nails ; tail Ion;; and 

 frequently shaggy,- two pectoral and si.v vcnlral 

 mamma;. 



THE GR.\Y SQUIRREL. 



Sciurus cincreus. — Gjielin. 

 Description. — General color, gray 

 above and white beneath ; sides of the 

 liead and body, and the exterior of the legs, 

 reddish fawn inix'ed with gray ; inside of 

 the legs and tiiighs bluish white ; tail 

 large and bushy, composed of hairs mark- 

 ed with zones alternately fawn nnd black, 

 and tipped with white: ears without pen- 

 cils, rounded and covered with very short 

 hair ; whiskers black, 2^ inches long. 

 Length of the specimen before me, from 

 the nose to the insertion of the tail, 10 

 inches; tail, (trunk 'JA, tuft 2,; lU indi- 

 es. Weight 1.-} pound. 



History. — According to Dr. Williams, 

 the Gray Squirrel was formerly the most 

 common squirrel in Vermont. It is still 



found in considerable numbers but less 

 plentifully at present than some of the 

 sirialler species. This as well as some 

 of the other species, in some years, be- 

 comes exceedingly multiplied, and then, 

 perhaps, for several years very few of 

 them will be seen. This sudden increase 

 and diminution of their numbers, seems 

 to depend upon two causes, the sujiplyof 

 food and the severity of the winters. 

 Their great multiplication generally fol- 

 lows a mild winter, which was preceded 

 by a productive summer. I believe it to 

 be generally true that when one species 

 becomes very plentiful, the others become 

 so too. The Gray Squirrel prefers woods, 

 which abound in oak, walnut, butternut 

 and chestnut, because these furnish him 

 with such food as he prefers. During 

 the fall they collect a supply of food for 

 the winter, which they carefully depos- 

 it in hollow trees or obscure recesses. 

 Their nests which are built with sticks 

 and lined with leaves, are usually placed 

 in the forks of large and lofty trees, or in 

 the hollows of old trees, and in these they 

 spend most of their time during the win- 

 ter, leaving them only to visit their de- 

 positories of food for the purpose of ob- 

 taining a supply. This is one of the most 

 active and beautiful of our squirrels. It 

 is easily tamed, and, in captivity, is re- 

 markably playful, but rather disposed to 

 be mischievous, often using its teeth to 

 the injury of the furniture. About acen- 

 tury ago these squirrels were so trouble- 

 some in Pennsylvania that government 

 granted a premium of 3^/ a head for their 

 destruction, which in 1749, amounted to 

 ii8, 000 sterling ; from which it would ap- 

 pear the number killed in one year was 

 about 1,280,000. 



THE BLACK SQUIRREL, 

 Sciurus ipgcr. — Linnaeus. 



Description. — Top of the head, back, 

 tail and extremities of the feet, covered 

 with hair of a deep black color; throat, 

 breast and belly brownish black, lighter 

 on the flanks ; ears short, black, and not 

 pencilled ; smaller and the tail proportion- 

 ally shorter, and the fur softer than in the 

 preceeding species. Length of the head 

 and body about 8 inches. 



History. — The Black Squirrel is much 

 less common in Vermont than tiie gray 

 squirrel, particularly in the western parts, 

 and is perjiaps, frequently confounded 

 with a blackish variety of the gray squir- 

 rel. Having obtained no specimen of 

 this squirrel, I have copied, ajjove, the de- 

 scription contained in Dr. Harlan's Fau- 

 na Americana. According to Dr. Will- 



