400 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY 



captured by the cook, and is now kept by me in a small cage I 

 constructed for his occupancy. About a week after I had him I 

 succeeded in getting some good photographic pictures of his 

 squirrelship, and one of the best of these has been reproduced to 

 illustrate this chapter. 



They make extremely engaging pets, being gentle, soft, and 

 fluffy, with many curious little habits, and withal, stand among 

 mammals as the prettiest forms we know anj'thing of. His silky 

 coat is brownish-ash above, pure wdiite beneath, with a black 

 emargination above the lateral edge of the dermal expansion 

 upon either side. No tuffs ornament the ears, as in some squir- 

 rels, and his head is short and rounded, with the face lacking in 

 that acuteness seen in some members of the tribe. As I have said 

 above, his eyes are very prominent and black, while the tail is 

 soft, flat, and distichous. They vary considerably in coloration, 

 some being much darker than others; some are very light indeed. 



Where the conditions are favorable for them, these squirrels 

 become very numerous; but being chiefly nocturnal in their 

 habits, are rarely seen in the daytime by any one. Hollow r s of 

 trees are the favorite places for them to nestle in and slumber 

 away the hours of daylight, but other convenient excavations or 

 crevices will be often utilized by them. They are very fond of 

 Indian corn; nuts, apples, and other fruits; seeds, and, agreeing 

 with most other rodents, will eat raw meat with avidity when- 

 ever they get a chance. 



They produce from three to a half dozen young to the litter, 

 usually breeding once in the north during the season, but fre- 

 quently as many as three times in the extreme south. Gestation 

 is of about a month's duration. Extreme solicitation is exper- 

 ienced for the young by the parents, and the old one will often 

 carry a squirrelet back into the nest should it from any cause 

 have tumbled out. At evening time, and during most of the 

 night, these little animals are wonderfully active and frolicsome. 



Many years ago I remember having once passed through a 

 stretch of forest on a moonlight night that I had frequently trav- 

 ersed during the daytime, and that without ever having sus- 

 pected a flying squirrel's presence in the place; but now dozens 

 of them were to be seen, and I paused for a long time to study 

 their antics. They would run up to the tops of the trees, then out 

 upon the extremities of the branches, from whence they would 

 leap and sail out into the open space. Tn the air the tail is held 



