319 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



In the daytime it sleeps in hollow trees; by night 

 it sallies forth and climbs and jumps about in the 

 tree-tops with exceeding rapidity, agility and pre- 

 cision, executing very long leaps, but always in the 

 obliquely descending line heretofore described. In 

 doing so it stretches its feet horizontally and 

 spreads the membrane. The tail is used as a rud- 

 der, and is said to enable the animal to change its 

 course suddenly in the midst of a leap. Sanderson, 

 however, contradicts this statement, saying that 

 when once the animal is launched it cannot deviate 

 from its course, and the natives profit by this inabil- 

 ity, as they await the animal at the end of its flight 

 and kill it with sticks. The speed of its bounds and 

 movements generally is said to be so great that the 

 eye can scarcely follow them. 



The Liatuga, a The north harbors Flying Squirrels 

 Russian Flying with long, bushy tails on which the 

 Squirrel. j ia j r j s arranged in two lateral rows. 

 One of them, the Russian Liatuga (Pteromys volans ) 

 inhabits the northern part of eastern Europe and 

 nearly all Siberia. The animal is considerably 

 smaller than the Common Squirrel, its body meas- 

 uring only six and one-half inches and its tail four 

 inches. The dense fur is of silky softness and of 

 a dull brown color in summer in its upper part, the 

 flying membrane and the outer face of the limbs 

 being darker grayish white and the under surface 

 white. In winter the fur becomes longer, denser 

 and lighter in color and the upper part and the tail 

 have a silvery gray appearance. 



The Liatuga inhabits birch woods or forests in 

 which pines, firs and birches commingle. The birch 

 tree seems to be a necessity with this animal, and 

 the coloring of its fur also seems to indicate this, as 

 it generally resembles birch bark as much as the fur 

 of the Common Squirrel corresponds to the trunks 

 of firs and pines. These Squirrels are decreasing in 

 numbers, and they have been nearly exterminated in 

 some localities where they were formerly plentiful, 

 although it may be that they occur oftener than is 

 commonly believed. The food of the Liatuga con- 

 sists of nuts and seeds of various trees, principally 

 birch seeds, berries, buds and shoots With the 

 advent of the cold weather it becomes dull and 

 inactive, sleeping on cold days and running about, 

 for several hours at least, on mild ones. 



The Assapan The Assapan, the Flying Squirrel of 

 or American Fly- North America (Pteromys or Sciuriis 



ing Squirrel. vo/ucella), is nearly the smallest va- 

 riety of the whole species. It is only ten inches long, 

 inclusive of the tail which measures four inches. Its 

 fur is exceedingly soft and delicate, of a yellowish 

 or brownish gray color on the upper portion, lighter 

 on the sides of the neck, silvery white on the paws 

 and yellowish white on the whole of the under sur- 

 face. The tail is ashy gray with a surface tinge of 

 brown, the flying membrane is edged with black and 

 white, and the eyes are brownish black. The little 

 animal lives gregariously in the forests of the tem- 

 perate and warm districts of North America, its 

 habits being similar to those of the Liatuga. It is 

 frequently caught and shipped to foreign lands and 

 bears captivity for years without obvious injury, if 

 adequate care is bestowed on it, and it breeds freely 

 in the cage. 



By day, when in captivity, the Assapans lie curled 

 up in their cage, as much hidden from view as possi- 

 ble. Overcome with sleep, they suffer the observer 

 to gently handle them in any way. There is no 

 exhibition of the senseless fury of a disturbed Dor- 



mouse; one may take thorn up, turn them over and 

 around and examine them without their making use 

 of their sharp teeth. The most they do is to 

 attempt to escape, and their silky little fur is so 

 sleek and flexible that they slip out of one's hand 

 like quicksilver. 



Lively Move- Some time after sunset, rarely before 

 mentsofthe nine o'clock at night, they bestir 

 Assapan. themselves. On the upper edge of 

 the sleeping box, which one must give them as a 

 substitute for their nest, a round little head becomes 

 visible; the body follows and soon one of the little 

 creatures sits on the narrow edge of the box in a 

 graceful Squirrel-like attitude, the flying membrane 

 half folded against its body, half hanging down in 

 a soft curve. The small, expanded ears move back 

 and forth as docs the bewhiskered muzzle, and the 

 large, dark eyes inquisitively scan the cage and sur- 

 roundings. If nothing suspicious is visible, the 

 Assapan glides down like a shadow, no matter 

 whether the plane is inclined or vertical, always 

 head first, without any noise, without a perceptible 

 movement of the limbs, the greater part of which is 

 covered with the membrane. It proceeds on the 

 woven ceiling of the cage, back downward, as if it 

 walked on level ground in a usual gait; it "rope 

 dances" over thin twigs with unsurpassed precision 

 and agility at a uniform speed; over the ground it 

 trips quicker than a Mouse; spreading its membrane 

 to the full, it darts through the whole space of the 

 cage like an arrow, and the next instant it seems 

 glued to a perch as if it were an excrescence belong- 

 ing to the branch, without having made an effort to 

 regain its balance. During all this moving about it 

 picks up a crumb, a nut, a grain of wheat or a morsel 

 of meat from its dish; drinks, sipping more than it 

 laps, washes its head with saliva, combs its hair with 

 the nails of its fore-feet, smooths it with the soles 

 of its small paws, turning, stretching, stooping all 

 the while, as if its skin was a bag in which its body 

 sat quite loosely. In the meantime its companions 

 also have left the sleeping box and crouch, sit, cling 

 to, hang from, run and climb in all imaginable posi- 

 tions of a Rodent on the perches, walls, nooks and 

 corners of the cage. 



After hunger and thirst are somewhat appeased, 

 and all parts of the fur have been satisfactorily 

 dressed, the desire for freer and more playful move- 

 ment exhibits itself. For a short time the Assapan 

 sits in one place, as if lost in thought. Then it 

 rouses itself for a leap with its flying membrane 

 spread, traversing the whole length of the cage. It 

 only remains for an instant on the spot on which it 

 alights; for immediately after reaching it, the Squir- 

 rel throws itself backward, making use of any con- 

 venient object as a fulcrum; then returning to its 

 starting point, it hurries in some other direction. 

 Up and down, head upward or inverted, hither and 

 thither, along the ceiling or the floor, up one wall, 

 down another, through the sleeping box, past the 

 dishes for food and water, from one corner into the 

 other, running, jumping, gliding, soaring, hanging, sit- 

 ting, the incomparably quick little creature changes 

 every instant, rushing ahead as if it could move a 

 thousand joints at once, and as if there were no such 

 thing as gravity to be overcome. A very keen obser- 

 vation, prolonged for some time, is necessary to fol- 

 low an Assapan at all, to distinguish and understand 

 the purport of its different movements, and if there is 

 a whole band of these creatures (which far surpass 

 all other climbers) running, jumping and soaring 



