374 



VEKTEBKATA. 



RED SQUIRREL. 



CHIP-SQUIRREL. 



CAT-SQUIRREL. 



MIGRATORY SQUIRREL. 



moving its tail in spasmodic jerks. It lives singly or in pairs, though several are usually found 

 on the same grounds; it occupies alike the forests, the fields, and orchards, and occasionally 

 the struts of the villages. It has a sort of impertinent familiarity in its ways toward mankind, 

 sometimes coming upon the trees near the houses, and if set upon by the dog, or watched by the 

 eat, or assaulted with a stone from a boy, it is likely to commence a chattering salutation or ora- 

 tion, consisting of "ehitkaree-chickaree-quilch-quilch-chickaree-ehiekaree," continued for twentj 

 minutes, daring which time it seems to exhaust the whole vocabulary of abuse and vituperation. 

 Daring this performance it keeps jumping about in the tree, its tail jerking, its head downward. 



gleaming eyes looking upon the object of its denunciation with a droll mixture of fun and 

 fierceness. All this while it leaps and jump3 and Hies from place to place, seeming to consider it 

 all a frolic himself, while he desires the object of his addresses to look upon it as a terrific display 

 of threatened vengeance. The general reputation of the animal is that of a sharp Yankee sqa 

 full of conceit, vivacity, impertinence, and selfishness; he harms nobody, yet is not a favorite: 

 when taken into captivity, he does not become tame; he manifests attachment to nobody, 

 seems constantly absorbed in two desires: one for food, and one to get away and enjoy his lib- 

 erty. His flesh is not much esteemed, and he is generally permitted to pass by unharmed bythi 

 Bportsmi :i. Nevertheless, the chickaree, at liberty and sporting in his native haunts, is alwaj - 

 object of interest, for he is really a beautiful example of that combination of grace, vivacity, 

 energy which characterize his genus. Be also maintains his active habits through the whole \ 

 alike in spring, summer, and autumn, and even amid the snows of winter; certainly, it would 

 be easy to name another vagrant of the field or forest which contributes more to enliven the la 

 scape than the chickaree. Be is often, during the cold season, the only living thing that is seen 

 in the woods; but for him all natnre would often seem to have been entombed .beneath the snow. 

 In looking closely at the economy of this animal, we find many things to admire, lie is exceed^ 



