SQUIRRELS 13 



ternut the meat lies. He always gnaws through 

 the shell so as to strike the kernel broadside, and 

 thus easily extract it ; while to my eyes there is 

 no external mark or indication, in the form or 

 appearance of the nut, as there is in the hickory- 

 nut, by which I can tell whether the edge or the 

 side of the meat is toward me. But examine any 

 number of nuts that the squirrels have rifled, 

 and, as a rvle l you will find they always drill 

 through the shell at the one spot where the meat 

 will be most exposed. Occasionally one makes 

 a mistake, but not often. It stands them in 

 hand to know, and they do know. Doubtless, 

 if butternuts were a main source of my food, 

 and I were compelled to gnaw into them, I 

 should learn, too, on which side my bread was 

 buttered. 



The cheeks of the red and gray squirrels are 

 made without pockets, and whatever they trans- 

 port is carried in the teeth. They are more or 

 less active all winter, but October and November 

 are their festal months. Invade some butter- 

 nut or hickory grove on a frosty October morn- 

 ing, and hear the red squirrel beat the " juba " 

 on a horizontal branch. It is a most lively jig, 

 what the boys call a " regular break-down," in- 

 terspersed with squeals and snickers and derisive 

 laughter. The most noticeable peculiarity about 



