THE SQUntRVIi. 



one of the peibbles was turned out of the hole on to the hard 

 earth. " I never," said the gentleman in question, " felt the 

 folly of practical joking so folly in all my life. Fancy the poor 

 little feUow nipped up with cold and scanty food, but, foreseeing 

 a long winter, resolved to economize his little hoard as well as 

 possible ; fancy him at last determined to break this — perhaps 

 his last — magazine, and cheerily brushing away the snow, fully 

 confident that a good meal awaited him as the reward of his 

 cold job, and, after all, finding nothing but stones ! I never 

 felt more mean and ashamed in aU my life, and really would 

 have given a guinea to have known that injured squirrel's 

 address. He should have had as fine a lot of nuts as would 

 have put him beyond the reach of poverty, had he lived to be 

 as old as Methuselah." 



The manner in which the squirrd takes its food is as pretty 

 as it is curious. It does not grub at its food with its head to 

 the ground like an ordinary quadruped, but takes it as if it had 

 a nut or an acorn between its fore paws as it squats on its 

 hind ones, and with its sharp chisel-hke teeth cuts off the top 

 of the nut. The rest of the shell is soon demolished ; and then, 

 xetaining the kernel in its paws, turns it about rapidly, and 

 divests it of every particle of husk ; it then leisuiely and 

 complacently nibbles at it till it is devoured. 



It exhibits great affection for its young. Mr. Jesse relates, 

 that in cutting down some trees on an estate at Petersham, 

 the axe was applied to the root of a tall tree, on the top of 

 which was a squirrel's nest, and a rope was fastened to the 

 tree for the purpose of bringing it down more expeditiously. 

 The workmen cut at the roots ; the rope was pulled ; the tree 

 swayed backwards and forwards, and at last fell. During 

 all these operations the female squirrel never attempted to 

 desert her new-bom young, bat remained with them in the 

 nest. When the tree fell down she was thrown out of the nest, 

 and was secured unhurt and put in a cage with her young 

 ones. She suckled them for a short time, but refused to eat. 

 Her maternal affection, however, remained till the last moment 

 ,of her life, and she died in the act of affording all the nourish- 

 ment in her power to her offspring. 



As regards the purchase of a squirrel, considerable care is 

 necessaiy, or the purchaser will be most lamentably taken in. 

 Many are sold by the dealers in dogs and birds, but the greater 

 part ty men in smockfrocks, who go about the streets with a 

 squirrd or two to sell, and who assert that they have canight 



