148 



The Living Animals of the World 



induced wild squirrels to pay 

 daily visits to her bedroom for 

 food ; tliey used to climb up 

 the ivy and jump in at the 

 open window. The great 



enemies of squirrels near houses 

 are the cats, which kill all the 

 young ones when they first 

 come down from the trees. 

 In a garden in Berkshire a 

 pair of squirrels had a family 

 -ey-erj summer for five years, 

 but none ev^r survi\-ed the cats' 

 persistent attacks. These 

 squirrels were most amusing 

 and improvident. Thev used 

 to hide horse-chestnuts, small 

 potatoes, kernels of stone fruit, 

 Imlbs of crocuses, and other 

 treasures in all kinds of jjlaces, 

 and then forget them. After 

 deep snows they might be seen 

 scamjiering about looking into 

 every hole and crevic*^ to see 

 hether that happened to be tlie i)lace where they had hidden something useful. :Much of the 



J'lwlu b<i Jr. p. D<i,i,l,j] [llrgmVs Pari: 



DORSAL SQriRREL FROM CEXTRA7. A.^IKRICA. 



A most licimtiful sjiecies. Tlie jiiain ocil.iur is red, liut tlio li.ick is Fvoiicli grey, iiuil the tail 



Prencli grey and reil lijingled. 



W 



store was buried among the roots of trees and bushes, and quite hidden when the snow fell. 



The Grey Suuikkkl. 



In Js'orthern Europe, and across Northern Asia and America, a large grev squin-el is found. 

 From its fur the " squirrel-cloaks " are made. These squirrels live mainly on the seeds of 

 pines in winter, and on wild fruits, shoots, and berries in summer. It has been noticed that 

 they will entirely forsake some great area of forest for a year or two, and as suddenly return 

 to it. The marten and the sable are the great enemies of the grey squirrel, but the eao-le-owl 

 and goshawk also kill numbers of them. In many countries the flesh of the squirrel is^eaten. 



TJie grey-and-lilack squirrel of the 

 United States was thus described some 

 sixty years ago : " It rises with the^ 

 sun, and continues industriously en- 

 gaged in the search for food for four 

 or five hours every morning. During 

 the warm weather of spring it pre- 

 pares its nest on the branch of a 

 tree, constructing it first of dried 

 sticks, which it lireaks off. or, if these 

 are not at hand, of green twio-s as 

 thick as a finger, which it gnaws off 

 iroiu the Iroughs. These it lays in the 

 iork of a tree, so as to make a frame- 

 work. It lines this frauiework with 

 leaves, and o\er these again it spreads 

 moss. In making the nest, the pair 



N-^l \ I K ( lill Ml NKv 

 Kuiid-.syuirielB which stol'u food foi' the wiiite 



