R O D E N T I A 263 



of plants, flowers and foliage, and some were nearly full of roses. 

 Many contained corn, beans, oats, bread, cake, potatoes and fat pork 

 picked up about camp." 26 



Captivity experiments on striped squirrels (Citellus tridecemline- 

 atus) show a preference for insects, especially grasshoppers, over ce- 

 reals. 27 The cheek pouches of one striped ground squirrel were filled 

 with seeds of Canada thistle. 28 They sometimes destroy ground-nesting 

 birds and one killed a chicken. 29 Of 46 stomachs of C. t. pallidus from 

 Colorado, I contained a deer mouse, 1 3 were nearly or quite full of in- 

 sects, chiefly grasshoppers, 1 7 contained some insects, 1 5 contained no 

 insects. "In certain localities and at certain times, the squirrels are 

 highly injurious, and in some localities and certain seasons are bene- 

 ficial, by the destruction of injurious insects and weed seeds." 3 



"Pine squirrels" (S churns) in western Montana do not ordinarily 

 cause any serious loss of crops, but after the extensive forest fires of 

 1910, which destroyed their natural food, they attacked many apple 

 orchards, doing considerable damage. They may sometimes do some 

 damage to solitary trees by cutting off the ends of twigs, but in thick 

 stands of timber they probably do no harm. As they are hosts of the 

 spotted fever tick, it may be advisable to destroy them about ranches 

 where the fever infestation is bad. 31 The Richardson red squirrel 

 (S. hudsonicus richardsoni) in Idaho coniferous forests feeds chiefly 

 on white pine bark, alpine fir and Picea alba. 32 The staple diet of the 

 red squirrel or chickaree (S. hudsonicus and subspecies), "taking its 

 whole range into consideration," is seeds of coniferous trees and nuts, 

 but cedar berries are favorite food in some localities. In spring it eats 

 buds, bark, leaves and fruit; very fond of mushrooms; eats insects 

 and their larvae ; also birds and their eggs, but not so extensively as 

 is generally supposed; ordinarily does no damage to trees by eat- 

 ing seeds or buds, as usually there is a superabundance, but aids natural 

 reforestation by burying seeds. 33 However, it is said* that where the old 



28 Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 4, p. 19, 1890. 



27 Hisaw and Emery, Food selection of ground squirrels (Citellus tridecemline- 

 atus), Journ. Mammalogy, yin, 41-44, 1927. 



28 Hahn, Ann. Kept. Indiana Dept. Geol. and Nat. Res., 1908, pp. 478-479. 



29 Seton, Lives of game animals, iv, Part i, pp. 228-248, 1929. Bailey, Journ. Mam- 

 malogy, iv, 129, 1923. 



30 Burnett, The striped spermophiles or ground squirrels of Colorado, Office Colo- 

 rado State Entom. Circular No. 14, 1914. 



81 Birdseye, Farmers' Bull., No. 484, p. 26, 1912. 



82 Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 5, p. 48, 1891. 



^Klugh, Ecology of the red squirrel, Journ. Mammalogy, vm, 1-32, 1927; Ann. 

 Rept. Smithsonian Inst. for 1928, pp. 495-524. Cram, The red squirrel, Journ. Mam- 



