CHAPTER VIII 

 SQUIRRELS, GOOD AND BAD 



A view of our tree-squirrels. The badge 

 of the true squirrel is his plume-like tail, which, 

 though it seems to our eyes only an elegant 

 ornament, is to him a balancing-pole assist- 

 ing his agile bounds from branch to branch, 

 an umbrella by day, and a blanket when he 

 withdraws to his hole for the night. No better 

 type of this delightful group can be found than 

 the red squirrel, the genius of the American 

 woods. He is exceedingly common, not at all 

 shy, and recognized by almost everybody, yet 

 few persons know really much about him. 

 There is practically only one species on the 

 continent, but local varieties differ much in 

 size and colors. Those in the South are larger 

 and redder, for example than those of Canada ; 

 and on the Pacific coast, where they are called 

 pine-squirrels, their coats are almost brown. 

 Their colors vary also with the seasons, the 



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