QUADRUPEDS. 13! 



the " badger hair-softeners'* employed by artists. In 

 a few more years this will probably become extinct as 

 a British wild animal. It is a sluggish, indolent crea- 

 ture, which conceals itself during the day in a burrow 

 excavated in some quiet corner of a wood or thicket, 

 coming out in the evening to feed on roots, fruits, 

 insects, or small animals. It is said, that if taken 

 young it may easily be domesticated, but never be- 

 come a very desirable companion, as it possesses an 

 odour not entirely agreeable. 



By far the most common, vivacious, and interesting 

 of woodland quadrupeds is the Squirrel. From child- 

 hood it is familiar to us, whirling round in its little 

 wire cage, and cracking nuts; but the poor little 

 creatures we are accustomed to see under confine 

 ment are satires upon the free, uncaged squirrels 

 leaping from bough to bough, scrambling along the 

 branches, scampering up and down the trunks and 

 gambolling in their native woods. The squirrel is 

 very fond of nuts and acorns, yet there are many 

 other things which compose its bill of fare when nuts 

 and acorns are not to be found. It is entirely a 

 vegetable-feeder, and the young succulent shoots of 

 trees and shrubs furnish it with many a meal. 

 Perched upon its haunches, its long bushy tail 

 turned on its back, it sits erect, holding the filbert 

 or acorn in its paws, cracking and divesting it of its 

 shell in as leisurely and methodical a manner as 

 monkeys perform the same operation. Its nest is 

 usually built near the top of a high tree, and is 

 nearly as large as a man's head, formed of moss, 

 leaves, and twigs, with a hole at the side for ingress 

 K 2 



