320 DIVISION I. VEKTEBRAL AXI.MALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



nanibol ainonn' the trees ; and wc liavc often seen it in midwinter skipping 

 along tlic stune wall.^, stopping fre(|uently, according to its habit, to gaze 

 around, as if taking a survey of surrounding olijects. 



"\\'iiile eating, the squirrel sits on its haunciics, witli its tail elevated, 

 holding the nut between its paws, and, skilfully opening the shell, removes 

 the outer pellicle from the kernel lieforc eating it. It is an agrec;djle sight 

 to o]jser\-e it in its excursions on the trees, leaping from branch to branch 

 uith extraordinary agility, and when disturbed, scampering away with sm- 

 pri.^ing speed. The female produces three or four young ones about mid- 

 sununer, which are protected by a nest formed of moss, fibrous roots, grass, 

 and leaves, curi(nisly interwo\cn, and placed in a hole, or in the fork between 

 too large branches. 



The red S(juirrel is conmion to the northern ]icmis[)liere and both conti- 

 nents. The gray S(juirrel, somewhat larger than the red, but of similar 

 habits and dispn-ition, and the flying scpiirrel, arc among the most common 

 inhaiiitants of our forests, and eonsecpiently familiar olijects to most of oiu" 

 readers. Of the srpiirrcl proper, there are twenty species in the United 

 States ; C\e in Europe and \orthern Asia ; five in Africa ; in the Indian 

 Islanils, twcnty-fi\e ; South America and AVest Indies, five. To the f imily 

 of the Sciurida" belong also the genera Tamias, Xerus, Spermophilus, Arc- 

 tmuys, and Aj)lodontia. Our space will permit us to notice but one or two : 

 The >Sprriiioj)hilt(s, or marmots, with cheek pouches, and ^irctorinjs, with- 

 out cheek pouches. The former are solitary animals, living singly, or [icr- 

 haps in pairs, while the latter are social, and live in societies. 



Ancrojn.s. — Marmots, without Cheek Pouches. The members of this 

 family have the head and eyes of large dimensions, but the ears small ; the 

 feet are very strong, with five toes on the hind ones, and four, with a rudi- 

 mental thumb, on the fore. The claws are very stout, and well adapted for 

 digging, and the fore paws can be brought U> the mouth. 



Like the rest of the order, they are without canine teeth, and in the 

 sharpness of the incisors of the lower jaw they bear some resemblance to the 

 great family of rats and mice, of which perhaps they may be considered as a 

 subdivision, though in soane respects they bear a resemblance to the squir- 

 rels, and their external forms, and also their manners, arc peculiar. They 

 have five grinders on each side in the upper jaw, and four in the under, the 

 summits of which Ikuc sharp tuljcrcles, so that they seem capable of sub- 

 sisting on insects, and even on the flesh of larger animals, as well as on 

 vegetables. Their l)odics are thick and clumsy, their legs short and thick, 

 their head large and fiat, their cars short and blunted, and their tail short, and 

 apparently inca[)able of motion. 



Some of them inhabit the most bleak and drearv situations, the summits 



