r 240 NATURAL HISTORY. 



acorns. It is neat, cleanly, alert, lively, and indus 

 trious. Its eyes are full of fire, its countenance is 

 .?harp, its body its nervous, and is limbs are supple. 



The beauty of its form is farther embellished by a 

 spreading tail, in shape like a plume of feathers, which 

 it raises above its head, and forms into a kind of shade 

 for itself. 



The squirrel may be said to be less a quadruped than 

 almost any other four-footed animal. It generally holds 

 itself almost upright, using its fore-feet as hands for 

 a conveyance to its mouth. Instead of hiding itself 

 in the earth, it is continually in the air. It some* 

 what resembles the birds by its lightness and activity ; 

 like them, it rests upon the branches of trees ; leaping 

 from one to the other, and in the highest of them 

 builds its nest. It avoids the water still more than 

 the earth ; and it is even asserted of this animal, that 

 when it is obliged to cross a river or stream, it uses 

 the bark of a tree, or some such light woody substance, 

 as a boat, while its tail supplies the place of sails, and 

 of a rudder. It collects a quantity of nuts during the 

 summer, which it deposits in the hollow part of some 

 old tree, and to which it has recourse for provision in 

 winter ; and such is the agility of its body, that it 

 will in an instant climb the most smooth beech tree. 



There are many species which approach to that of 

 the squirrel, though there are few varieties in the spe- 

 cies itself. There are some of an ash-colour, and a!l 

 the rest are red. The small grey squirrel is of a dif- 

 ferent species, and remains always grey. The flying 

 squirrels are very different from the rest. The white 

 squirrel of Cambaye is very small, and has a tail like 

 that of the European squirrel. That of Madagascar) 

 called Tsitsihi, is grey, and according to Flaccourt is 



