20 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



" With all the prettiness of feigned alarm, 

 And anger insignificantly fierce." 



But owing partly to the liberal distribution of the rem- 

 nants of our breakfast, and partly also to our attitude 

 of perfect repose, they soon became more confiding, and 

 approached nearer and nearer. It was very interesting 

 to observe the nervous and suspicious manner of their 

 movements. One would rush forward with lightning 

 speed for a couple of yards, then stop short for a few 

 seconds to gaze with its large prominent eyes, as if to 

 satisfy itself that the coast was clear, and then would 

 venture to make another dash. 



How squirrels ate. On a bit of bread or a nut 

 being thrown to one, it would spring upon it kitten- 

 fashion, bound away for a few feet with the morsel in its 

 mouth, and there sitting with its tail arched on its 

 back, and holding the food in its forelimbs, begin 

 devouring it bit by bit with its sharp chisel-like teeth. 

 This attitude of sitting with its tail arched on its back 

 suggested the ancient Greek name of the squirrel, which 

 means an animal that sits under the shadow of its tail. 



Natural history of the squirrel. The com- 

 mon striped squirrels are almost semi-domesticated in 

 India and Ceylon, and always found near human habita- 

 tions. They do not occur east of the Bay of Bengal ; 

 westward they extend as far as Sind and Beluchistan. 

 There are about twenty different species of squirrels 

 fqund in India and its dependencies, not to mention the 

 numerous other kinds found in different parts of the 



