604 NATURAL HISTORY. 



animals of our country. John Smith, in 1606, mentions it, and a little 

 later Morton, in his ' New England Canaan,' speaks of " a little flying 

 squirrill. with bat-like winges. which hee spreads when hee jumpes from 

 tree to tree, and does no harm." It is a pity that these little creatures 

 are not more abundant, for they truly do no harm; but, on the other hand, 

 they are about as pleasant companions as one could wish in the trees about 

 his house. During the day they are mostly quiet, and it is only as night 

 comes on that they show themselves in all their grace and beauty. Occa- 

 sionally they seem to have especial times of play ; when it appears that 

 they were so filled with animal spirits that they must seek every means to 

 let it out. At such times a grove inhabited by these animals presents a 

 most interesting sight. Each squirrel is in full motion, now climbing up 

 some tall tree, and then, with legs spread out, stretching the ' wings ' on 

 either side of the body, he gives a spring out into the air, and sails away. 

 At first he falls rapidly, but as he gains more momentum, he glides away 

 farther and farther, until at last he alights, at a much lower level, but at 

 a distance of even ten or a dozen rods from his starting-point, on the trunk 

 or lower branches of another tree. Up this he quickly scrambles, to repeat 

 the sail in some other direction. This flight seems to be indulged in as 

 pure recreation, and at these times it seems to have no other object. 



The flying-squirrel itself deserves a word of description ; our illustra- 

 tion of it is most admirable. It is flatness itself; its body is flat, and 

 then when it expands those folds of skin which extend between the 

 legs of either side, this appearance is increased. And then there is the 

 tail, flat like the rest, the hairs running off on either side, like the barbs 

 on a feather. The pretty grayish fur of the back, and the white of the 

 belly, is very soft, and the large, bright, black eyes add not a little to 

 the beauty. 



In captivity these animals make the most engaging pets. They soon 

 become most thoroughly tame ; and they never seem to show the temper 

 and the teeth as the other squirrels do. One which I had liked to snuggle 

 up inside my vest, making his entrances and exits by way of my coat- 

 sleeve. Here he would stay by the hour, while I was walking about, and 

 at times his head would peep out as if to see what was going on. He had 

 his regular nest of cotton in a box, and here he spent most of the time 

 during the day. He would, however, come out and climb to the shoulders 

 of any one who chanced to be in the room, and take the same flying leaps 

 as do his brothers in the woods. When coiled up in his nest he slept 

 soundly, and it was only with difficulty that he could be wakened, and no 

 matter how much one might poke him, he never showed the slightest 

 temper. At night, however, he was fully awake, and then he showed all 



