Feb., 1912. Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 119 



The food of the Gray Squirrel is much the same as that of the Fox 

 Squirrel, and both have the same habit of burying nuts in little holes dug 

 in the ground. While many of these are probably not found again and 

 used by the animal, there is no doubt that a majority of them are, if 

 not by the particular Squirrel that concealed them, by others of his race 

 that have buried nuts in that vicinity. I have on several occasions 

 seen Squirrels bury nuts seemingly in a haphazard way and without 

 any particular regard for the location, the spot selected being wherever 

 it happened to be at the time when it had been given or had found more 

 nuts than it desired to eat. I am inclined to believe that, having a 

 general idea of the location, they trust to their keen sense of smell to 

 enable them to discover their buried treasures when times are not so 

 prosperous. In this connection Dr. C. Hart Merriam says, "Those 

 who have observed the habits of this species in summer must have 

 noticed their propensity for burying nuts just beneath the surface in 

 various parts of the woods. They do not, so far as I am aware, make a 

 great accumulation in any one place, but dig a thousand little holes, 

 plant a nut or two in each, scrape a few leaves over the spot and hurry 

 off as if afraid some one would discover the treasure. In winter this 

 habit is almost equally marked, and the first thing a squirrel thinks of 

 after his hunger is satisfied, is to secrete a portion of the food remaining 

 at his disposal. In accomplishing this he tunnels into the snow in 

 various directions, hiding some of the surplus provisions in each excava- 

 tion. Many persons who have observed this habit in summer regard 

 it as an idle pastime, and question if the squirrel ever finds the nuts 

 again, knowing that he could never remember the exact position of 

 so man3^ But those who have kept tame squirrels must have been 

 struck with the remarkable certainty and quickness with which they 

 detect the whereabouts of nuts that are hidden from sight. A squirrel 

 will often scratch and gnaw at a tight box or drawer that he has never 

 seen before, if a few nuts happen to be in the bottom of it. His sense 

 of smell is very acute, enabling him to detect the presence of a nut at 

 some little distance, hence, though he does not, of course, remember 

 the exact spot where each one is buried under the leaves, he can, by 

 moving carefully over the ground, discover a great many of them." 

 (/. c, pp. 224-225.) 



While it is probable that Gray Squirrels are migratory at the 

 present time to a more or less extent, their numbers are so greatly 

 reduced as compared with former days that, if they continue the habit, 

 they do not attract attention. Fifty years ago they were known to 

 migrate in vast numbers, not annually but at irregular intervals from 

 some unknown cause, but which may have been governed by food 



