The Habits of the Squirrel. 503 



gence of the -Flying Squirrel (Pteromys volucella) and the 

 Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) are about on a par ; that the 

 Bed Squirrel or Chickaree ( Sciurus hudsonius ) ranks 

 nearly if not quite first ; and that, as compared with other 

 rodents, squirrel intelligence is of a high order. The supe- 

 riority of the Eed Squirrel is to be attributed, in part, to 

 his contact with man ; and is evidenced by his wide geogra- 

 phical distribution (as pointed out in Br. Bell's appendix), 

 showing capacity to cope with many and varied conditions. 

 The influence of hibernation on the psychic life of any ani- 

 mal is an interesting enquiry ; but, as regards the squirrels, 

 much more information of an accurate kind, in regard to 

 the manner in which these creatures pass the winter, is 

 greatly needed. All species seem to lay up more or less of 

 food for a time of scarcity. It is certainly known that the 

 Chipmunk does hibernate for a portion of the winter, at 

 least ; but the real state of the case, as regards tho other 

 species of squirrels, has not yet been fully learned. Among 

 the peculiar habits of the squirrels, of special physiological 

 interest, is that of sneezing into the fore-paws when going 

 through the operation of dressing their fur (toilet) ; it 

 seems to be vohintary, and functionally comparable to 

 clearing the throat in human beings. 



Concurrent testimony from widely different quarters has 

 established that, among many different genera of rodents, 

 there is musical capacity both of execution (" song ") and, 

 as we must infer, of appreciation. This faculty has been 

 most observed in mice. The writer's investigation into 

 the vocal expression of the Chickaree has revealed a wide 

 range of capacity in expressing the emotions and other 

 psychic states, naturally most marked in excitement. A 

 study of two Chipmunks kept in confinement has enabled 

 the writer to correct some partially erroneous statements 

 of other writers, and has convinced him that while the 

 intelligence of this species, relatively to that of the Bed 

 Squirrel, is low, it shows the power to adapt to its sur- 

 roundings in an intelligent manner beyond what has been 

 supposed. 



A large part of the paper is devoted to a critical exami- 



