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OF SQUIRRELS IN GENERAL. 



THE Squirrels are elegantly formed animals; and 

 most of the species are remarkable for the spright- 

 liness of their motions. They climb the smooth 

 trunks of trees with the utmost agility ; and skip 

 about among the branches almost like birds. Two 

 or three of the species reside in burrows, which they 

 dig under the surface of the earth. These never 

 climb; and consequently have the name of Ground 

 Squirrels. About six are furnished with mem- 

 branes, extending on each side of their body, from 

 the fore to fhe hind legs, by which they are ren- 

 dered so buoyant in the air, that, in leaping from 

 the high branches of one tree to the lower ones of 

 another, they can pass a very considerable space, 

 without danger of falling to the ground. 



The tails of all the Tree Squirrels are exceedingly 

 long, bushy, and light, having the long hairs so ex- 

 tended towards each side, as to render this member 

 much wider than it is deep. In the extensive leaps 

 that the animals take from tree to tree, their tail 

 seems to serve the same purpose which the feather 

 does to an arrow: it balances the body, arid renders 

 their motion through the air much more steady 

 than it would otherwise be. In their ordinary mo- 

 tions, or when they are at rest, the Squirrels gene- 

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