THE FOX SQUIRREL 45 



choose such a place as this? Did you ever see 

 squirrels out house hunting? Did you ever see 

 them fitting up their home? How did they carry 

 the leaves and moss? How many of the family 

 worked? At what time of year was it? Do they 

 have a door to their house? How, then, do they 

 keep out the wind and the snow? Is there a 

 furnace or a stove in this house? How, then, can 

 they keep warm? (They wear very warm fur coats.) 

 Without a squirrel, the study of this covering can 

 be made from a dried pelt. Is there more than 

 one coat? Notice the inner coat. It is very soft 

 and compact, a dark drab next to the skin, re- 

 sembling cotton batting. What does this coat do 

 for the squirrel? Notice the outer coat. This coat 

 is coarser and not so compact. Do the hairs stand 

 straight out from the body, or do they lie down? 

 What is the use of this coat? Which coat gives the 

 color to the animal? Notice these long hairs in 

 which the dark and light alternate. Which color 

 is at the tip of the hairs? 



These are not the squirrel's only protection from 

 the cold. What besides? (He carries with him a 

 beautiful fur cloak — his tail or brush — which he 

 wraps about him when he lies down to sleep.) Call 



