358 FOVS-FOOTEB AMERICANS 



" He uses his paws like hands," cried Dodo. " See 

 how he pats and scratches to cover the nut, and curls 

 his tail over his back. Now he has gone in the wheel 

 for a race. He is ever so tame ; how long have you had 

 him, Rap?" 



" Only about a week. Gray Squirrels grow tame very 

 quick, but you must be careful they don't bite you. 

 One nipped my hand almost through, a couple of years 

 ago, when I put it into his nest." 



" Then they live in holes, too," said Nat ; " they must 

 need quite big ones." 



" Yes, and they build great wide tree nests, too, for I 

 climbed up to what I thought was a Crow's nest one 

 year, and it had four queer little blind Squirrels in it. 

 They took ever so long to grow, nearly three months, 

 and after that I used to see the old ones sleeping in the 

 nest in daytime. They seem to go out most morning 

 and night." 



"Do they sleep in winter?" asked Dodo. 



" I'm not sure," said Rap ; " sometimes I've seen them 

 in the winter and sometimes I liave not." 



" It depends upon the weather," said the Doctor. 

 " The Gray Squirrel does not really Mhernate, but stays 

 curled up in bad weather like the Red Squiri'el, just as 

 in very cold places he nests in a hole ; in a medium 

 climate he uses either a hole pr tree nest, and further 

 south usually a tree nest. One remarkable thing about 

 him is that instead of storing his food in piles, or filling 

 rock or tree hollows, he makes a separate cache for each 

 nut, and exactly how he finds the place again, the very 

 wisest of Wise Men is not sure. Some say it is by a 

 keen sense of smell, others a good memory. For myself, 



