27G FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST. 



little creature is common all over the country, from 

 the East to the West, as far as the plains. I have 

 often seen him in HoldernesB, JST. H., and he is com- 

 mon at Profile Lake, Franconia Notch, K H. 



The nest of the flying squirrel is in a hole in a 

 tree. The female bears from four to six young 

 about the first of April or later. When captured 

 and tamed the little ones make most charming pets. 



Next to the woodchuck, the flying squirrel 



i^ one of the most profound 

 sleepers of all hibernating 

 animals. He retires to 

 his nest early in Novem- 

 ber, and does not reap- 

 pear until the latter part of 

 March. 



The big relative of the 

 jiiSk red squirrel — an animal 

 made of coarser clay — 

 is the Northern gray 

 squirrel {Sciu/'us caroUnen/^is leucotis). This active 

 fellow, familiar in many of the city parks, hibernates 

 only when the weather is extremely cold, and then 

 for no great length of time. So long as the mercury 

 will stand above 16° the gray squirrel will venture out 

 in the cold ; but when it drops below that, and the 

 chances of food on the snow covered ground are 



The Gray Squirrel. 



