138 ANIMAL COMPETITORS 
spine, side-stripes of black, white underparts 
and feet, and tufted ears. It is also found in 
the mountains of Colorado. 
The squirrel that flies. All squirrels are 
clever at falling. They often slip at great 
heights, and when they can not clutch a lower 
branch will turn in the air, spread out their 
legs and usually alight without harm. The 
skin is loose, and is pulled far out when the 
legs are widely stretched; and in one sort the 
side fold is so ample as to form a regular para- 
chute, enabling the animal to make long slides 
through the air; it becomes, in fact, a living 
aeroplane. This is the flying-squirrel, the 
prettiest fourfoot in the American woods. 
There are two species. One dwells in north- 
ern Canada, measuring 14 inches in length, 
and is cinnamon-brown above (sooty in winter), 
with a black ring around the eye, and the fur 
of the whitish underparts gray near the roots. 
A smaller variety occurs in the St. Lawrence 
Valley. The other species is the common one 
of the eastern and southern half of the Union, 
which is only about 9.5 inches in length. Its 
fur is dense and exquisitely soft, with the tail 
