; 9 6 



SQUIRREL. 



The only plan is to watch the animal until it has ascended an isolated tree, or by a 

 well-directed shower of missiles, to drive it into such a place of refuge, and then to form 

 a ring round the tree, so as to intercept the Squirrel if it should try to escape by leap- 

 ing to the ground and running to another tree. The best climber is then sent in chase 

 of the Squirrel, and endeavors, by violently shaking the branches, to force the little 

 animal to loosen its hold and come to the earth. But it is by no means an easy matter 

 to shake a Squirrel from a branch, especially as the little creature takes refuge on the 

 topmost and most slender boughs which even bend under the weight of its own small 



body, and can in no way be 

 trusted with the weight of a 

 human being. By dint, how- 

 ever, of perseverance, the 

 Squirrel is at last dislodged, 

 and comes to the ground as 

 lightly as a snowflake. Hats, 

 caps, sticks, and all available 

 missiles are immediately flung 

 at the luckless animal as soon 

 as it touches the ground, and it 

 is very probably struck and over- 

 whelmed by a cap. The suc- 

 cessful hurler flings himselfupon 

 the cap, and tries to seize the 

 Squirrel as it lies under his prop- 

 erty. All his companions gather 

 round him, and great is the dis- 

 appointment to find the cap 

 empty, and to see the Squirrel 

 triumphantly scampering up the 

 trunk of some tree, where it 

 would be useless to follow it. 



During the hotter hours of the day the Squirrel is never seen, being quietly asleep 

 in its lofty nest ; but in the early morning, or in the cooler hours of the afternoon, it 

 comes from its retreat, and may be seen leaping about the branches in search of the 

 various fruits on which it feeds. 



The nest of the Squirrel is an admirable specimen of natural architecture, and is 

 almost invariably placed in the fork of some lofty branch, where it is concealed from 

 the view of any one passing under the tree, and is out of the reach of any ordinary foe, 

 even if its situation were discovered. Sometimes it is built in the hollow of a decayed 

 bough, but is always admirably concealed from sight. In form it is nearly spherical, 

 and is made of leaves, moss, grass, and other substances, woven together in so artistic 

 a manner that it is impermeable to rain, and cannot be dislodged from its resting-place 

 by the most violent wind. A single pair of Squirrels inhabit the same nest, and seem 

 to consider some particular tree as their home, remaining in it year after year. 



The female Squirrel produces about three or four young at a litter, the little ones 

 being born in the middle of the summer, and remaining under the care of their parents 

 until the spring of the succeeding year, when they separate, and shift for themselves. 



The food of the Squirrel is usually of a vegetable nature, and consists of nuts, "acorns, 

 wheat, and other fruits and seeds. Being a hibernating animal, the Squirrel is in the 

 habit of laying up a winter store of provisions, and towards the end of autumn, while 

 acorns and nuts are in their prime, becomes very busy in gathering certain little treas- 

 ures, which it hides in all kinds of nooks, crevices, and holes, near the tree in which it 

 lodges. The creature must be endowed with a very accurate memory, for it always re- 

 members the spots where it has deposited its store of food, and even when the snow lies 

 thickly upon the earth, and has covered the ground with a uniform white mantle, the 

 Squirrel betrays no perplexity, but whenever it requires nourishment, goes straight to 

 the hidden storehouse, scratches away the snow, and disinters its hidden treasures. 



SQUIRREL. Sclurus Europaeus. 



