392 SQUIRREL, SKELETON OF. 
dowments in their perfection in the first and last 
summer of his existence, he betrayed so much 
proneness to mischief, in spite of corrections, so 
much activity and energtic defiance of controul, 
that I resolved on putting a finish to his life, and 
making the last use of him as an osteological pre- 
paration ; wherein the beautiful adaptations of his 
frame to the objects and conditions of his existence 
and whole economy are evident and remarkable. 
The whole skeleton is light, being compounded of 
bones small in themselves, and having thin parietes 
as in the generality of birds, and thus superfluous 
weight is avoided in an animal destined to move 
by a series of springs, and to execute light, grace- 
ful, and varied movements. To perform their bounds 
from branch to branch, they are provided with 
lengthened hinder limbs, the feet of which are ca- 
pable of efficient prehension on alighting on a 
bough, the claws being also at this time brought 
downwards and employed to steady their hold, 
these last organs being further useful in climbing. 
The anterior limbs imitate the human arms,—they 
are widely separated, powerful, extensively move- 
able, the lower arms capable of rotation, and the 
feet at once adapted for clinging when climbing or 
alighting after a spring, and for holding food, in 
which latter operation the two feet, or rather hands, 
are brought together, and form a hollow inverted 
cone for the reception of the substance, which is 
more especially steadied and felt by the “rudimental 
toes” or more properly, thumbs. The tail, by its 
length and great freedom of movement, assists 
ereatly in balancing the body in their springs and 
while sitting up to eat. The cranium is capacious, 
and the head altogether large, and were it not that 
the neck is found to be short, and that there are 
such powerful muscles, and such a large tail by 
which the body of the creature is sustained most 
