GROUND-SQUIRRELS 145 
varieties differ so much in size and tint that 
the early naturalists made several species. 
‘‘This squirrel,’? to quote the pleasant 
phrases of Dr. Godman, ‘‘is most generally 
seen scudding along the lower rails of the com- 
mon zigzag or ‘Virginia’ fences, which afford 
him at once a pleasant and secure path, as, in 
a few turns, he finds a safe hiding place be- 
hind the projecting angles, or enters his burrow 
undiscovered. When . . . his retreat is 
cut off he . ; . runs up the nearest tree, 
uttering a very shrill cry or whistle, indicative 
of his distress, and it is in this situation that 
he is most frequently made captive by his per- 
secuting enemies, the mischievous schoolboys.’’ 
No animal is better prepared than the chip- 
munk to withstand the cold and hunger of a 
northern winter, for he has learned how to con- 
struct a model home and to provision it well. 
The burrow and its furniture. This is a 
burrow which usually begins beside a stone or 
among the roots of a tree where it will not at- — 
tract notice, moreover all the earth that is taken 
from the hole is scattered at a distance in order 
not to betray the excavation. It is first carried 
