244 ME. w. H. ADAMS ON THE [Mar. 6, 



1 do not know what the indigenous native name for these 

 Squirrels is, but they are called Ph-ing-Foxes .by the English- 

 speaking natives and are Aery numerous. They live in hollow trees, 

 not being particular as to their height or as to whether they are 

 situated in the ravines or on the hills. Owing to the density of 

 the bush it is very difficult for the white man to get at them, the 

 only chance being to stand on a clearing and shoot them as they 

 fly across, and this can only be done on a night when the moon is 

 at the full. 



The first skin I ever saw was when I was at Accra. It was in 

 the possession of a native who was brought before me for some 

 offence, and, being struck with it, I asked if some more could be 

 got. The native of the Coast, however, does not hurry himself, 

 and, hearing nothing more of it, I quite forgot the matter. Some 

 months after, in April 1893, I went to the Sanitarium at Aburi, a 

 village situated at a height of some 800 feet among the hills before 

 mentioned. The rains were just beginning and were very heavy. 

 While watching a big cotton-wood tree being felled, I saw an 

 animal which I mistook for a cat run out of a hole some 50 feet 

 up and then return. When the tree fell, with the help of a native 

 I extricated the occupant, which turned out to be one of these 

 Squirrels. It was very fierce and bit and scratched savagely tUl 

 killed. The hole was about 5 feet deep, and covered at the bottom 

 -nith sticks and small branches to such an extent that it was 

 evident some sort of a nest was intended. I took the skin, and 

 the " bovs " at once seized on the body, which they told me was the 

 greatest delicacy that existed, and, as my servant said, " When you 

 catch one man-fox you shut your door and don't want your friend 

 to come and see you," meaning that it was too good to be shared. 

 Finding that these Squirrels were to be had on the hiUs, I set to 

 work to collect them. 



They come out of their holes in the trees some hours after 

 sunset, returning long before daybreak. They are only to be seen 

 on bright moonlight nights, and in fact the natives say they do not 

 come out at all in stormy weather or on very dark nights. They 

 live on berries and fruits, being specially fond of the palm oil-nut, 

 which they take to their nests to peel and eat. The most I have seen 

 in one hole is three, though the natives say five or six are sometimes 

 found. They pass from tree to tree with great rapidity, usually 

 choosing to jump from a high branch to a lower one, and then 

 chmbing up the tree to make a fi-esh start. The temperature on 

 the hills varies considerably. During the time I was there — the 

 rainy season, from the middle of April to the middle of June — it 

 was never very hot, and one night I remember the thermometer 



the large black-and-white species discovered by Pel, and named in his honour 

 Anomalurus pcli (Temm. Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 146, 1853). The astonishing 

 abundance in which Mr. Adams found this species is rather remarkable, as 

 previously only three or four specimens of it seem to have reached European 

 Museums —O. T.] 



