CHAPTER VIII 
SQUIRRELS, GOOD AND BAD 
A view of our tree-squirrels. The badge 
of the true squirrel is his plume-like tail, which, 
though it seems to our eyes only an elegant 
ornament, is to him a balancing-pole assist- 
ing his agile bounds from branch to branch, 
an umbrella by day, and a blanket when he 
withdraws to his hole for the night. No better 
type of this delightful group can be found than 
the red squirrel,—the genius of the American 
woods. He is exceedingly common, not at all 
shy, and recognized by almost everybody, yet 
few persons know really much about him. 
- There is practically only one species on the 
continent, but local varieties differ much in 
size and colors. Those in the South are larger 
and redder, for example than those of Canada; 
and on the Pacific coast, where they are called 
pine-squirrels, their coats are almost brown. 
Their colors vary also with the seasons, the 
125 
