218 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



do not actually strike the nest. A well-aimed stone will gener- 

 ally alarm the cunning little animal, and cause it to make one of 

 its rapid rushes to the top of the tree. The materials of the 

 Squirrel's cage are very similar to those of an ordinary bird's- 

 nest, consisting of twigs, leaves, moss, and other vegetable sub- 

 stances. Its structure is tolerably compact, though it will not 

 endure rough handling without being injured. 



In this aerial nest the young squirrels are born, making their 

 appearance in the middle of summer, and remaining with their 

 mother until the following spring. There are generally three or 

 four young; and though the nest appears to be so slight, it is 

 capable of sustaining the united weight of young and parents. 

 The Squirrel does not seem to make more nests than can be 

 avoided, and, like many nest-builders, inhabits the same domicile 

 year after year, until it is quite unfit for occupation. Should the 

 nest be assailed while the young are still helpless, the mother 

 takes them in her mouth one by one, leaps away with them, and 

 deposits them in some place of safety. The materials of which 

 the nest are made are grass, moss, and leaves, together with a few 

 twigs, and the shape is nearly spherical. The winter cage, how- 

 ever, is most irregular in form, being accommodated to the space 

 between the boughs in which it is built, and is very thick and 

 warm. 



The amount of materials collected for this purpose is surpris- 

 ing. All of them are large and thick-walled, but in some, which 

 are probably old nests, with the accumulation of years upon 

 them, the mass of dried vegetable substances is almost incredible. 

 I have looked into many a winter cage, and on one occasion, when 

 the nest was so hidden that those below could hardly see it, I 

 pulled out whole armfuls of moss, leaves, and grass, and threw 

 them to the ground, where they made a heap like a haycock. 

 The spectators said it looked like the conjuror's trick of produc- 

 ing shawls, flowers, and goblets out of an empty hat. The nest 

 had been deserted for some time, and all the materials were mat- 

 ted together by repeated rains. 



