110 



THE FLYING SQU1REEL. 



The flying squirrel is a much more uncommon ani- 

 mal than the one we have j ust described ; it is much 

 less than the common squirrel, and not a great deal 

 larger than the field mouse : its skin is soft, and ele- 

 gantly adorned with dark fur, which is shaded, or ra- 

 ther intermixed with light ; its eyes are large, promi- 

 nent, and sparkling ; its ears are small ; and its teeth 

 very sharp ; and its tail, when it does not leap, lies 

 close to its back. 



What distinguishes the flying squirrel from every 

 other animal is the formation of the skin, which extends 

 from the fore to the hinder feet, so that when the ani- 

 mal stretches out its legs, the skin is extended between 

 them somewhat like that between the legs of a bat ; 

 and the surface of the body being thus increased, it 

 is enabled to remain some time buoyant in the air, in 

 the same manner as a paper kite, and frequently to 

 take a leap of a hundred yards at a time. 



It is not near so lively as the common squirrel, and 

 spends greatest part of the day in inactivity and sleep ; 

 it does not seem fond either of nuts or almonds, but. 

 lives chiefly upon the sprouts of birch and the cones 

 of pine ; it is but seldom seen in Europe, though it is 

 sometimes found in the American states. 



THE MARMOUT. 



Though the marmout does not bear a striking re- 

 semblance to the hare, it certainly is more like it than 

 it is to the rat, yet some Naturalists have classed it 

 amongst that species. This animal is not quite so large 

 as a hare, though much more corpulent in its make ; 

 the shape of the head is almost the same, but its ears 



