32 NOTES ON SOME HABITS OF THE SQUIRREL. 



It is remarkable that out of 22 years during which I have 

 grown strawberries in this garden I have only been molested in 

 those two or three seasons. Although squirrels have been about 

 equally abundant during all those years, I have never known them 

 in my garden touch any other kind of fruit, though I have heard 

 that they will do so. I was just going to say that, excepting to 

 protect my strawberries, squirrels have never been molested on my 

 premises ; but I call to mind a winter's day a few years ago on which 

 one of my sons, for lack of other game, shot several squirrels, 

 much to my annoyance. However, to make the best of a bad job, 

 I proposed to have them in a pie, and to my great surprise my cook 

 made no objection, and in due time the pic was made ; and, oddly 

 enough, our excellent secretary, Mr. Stuart, paid me that day one 

 of his welcome, but few and far between visits, and remained to 

 luncheon. The pie duly appeared and gave forth a very appetising 

 odour. We all tried it and agreed that it was excellent, very far 

 superior (in my own opinion) to rabbit pie. For myself I have no 

 prejudices in the way of food. I have, besides squirrels, eaten 

 bullfinch pie, jays, hedgehogs, and badger ; and all were good, but 

 the squirrels as good as any. Mr. Stuart (if I remember rightly) 

 also came in once for a pie at my table made of 23 bullfinches shot 

 on one morning in my gooseberry beds. 



This is, however, a digression. To return to the squirrels. I 

 have to thank one of our members, Mr. Oliver Farrer, for com- 

 municating to me the results of his own observations in regard to 

 squirrels burying acorns singly, agreeing very exactly with what I 

 have already mentioned. Perhaps some of our members may have 

 observed and will tell us about the stores said to be laid up in 

 holes of trees. It is very probably only from lack of observation 

 that I have never come across one myself, but it seems somewhat 

 remarkable that the habit of interring the acorns as I have 

 described should not have been noticed in the larger Natural 

 History works I have referred to. Whether any account of it may 

 be found in some of our Natural History periodicals I hope to 

 ascertain by-and-bye. 



