SQUIRRELS, GOOD AND BAD = 139. 
almost as flat as a feather; the color is drab 
above, irregularly tinged with russet, while the 
hair of the underparts is pure white to the 
roots. Cram notes the ‘‘protective’’ similarity 
of their clouded cream-buff colors, to the lichens 
on the trees to whose bark they often cling 
motionless for long periods. They are not 
much exposed to any but nocturnal enemies, 
such as owls and the weasel tribe, however, so 
that this similitude cannot have much practical 
importance. They are forest folk, haunting 
the hardwood groves, and few farmers suspect 
how many of these tenants profit by the old 
stubs left along the edges of their clearings. 
Really they are tenants of the woodpeckers, who 
are good enough not to occupy one of their care- 
fully dug nesting-holes twice, but to leave it to 
the occupancy, rent-free, of squirrels, chick- 
adees, little owls and other feebler neighbors. 
The squirrels are capable, however, of carving 
out a deep hole for themselves, or will take 
possession of some natural cavity, and in it 
arrange a luxurious. bed of shredded bark, etc., 
mingled with the fur they shed plentifully in 
the fall, Sometimes many will room together 
