212 MAMMALIA. 



Squirrel in his trap, instead of the \-aUial)le lur for which it was set. 

 But if, instead of consultinL^' the hunter's interests, we lake another 

 view of the case, it is eas}- to see that the Chickaree is a ^ood friend 

 to the martin. I \v. furnishes the hitt(M' with food of an exceptionally 

 agreeable kind, and though it cost him his life, takes great j)ains to 

 discover and spring the traps set for the martiri's destruction. 



He is not always to be found in ecpial numbers, but is influenced 

 in a marked degree b\- the; beechnut crop. In seasons when mast is 

 plentiful there seems to be a .Scjuirrel for every tree;, bush, stump, 

 and log in the entire? Wilderness, besides a numbcM* left over to 

 fill possible vacancies. When, on the other hand, the nut croj) has 

 been a failure, a corresponding diminution in the numbers of .Squir- 

 rels is observable, and the}' are sometimes actually scarce."" Hence 

 it is clear that while the diet of the Red Squirrel is varied, his staple 

 commodity is the beechnut, the yield of which in an\- )-ear deter- 

 mines his abundance in the succeeding winter and spring. That 

 he migrates, on a small scale at least, is a fact concerning which there 

 can be no reasonable doubt : on any other hypothesis we are at a 

 loss to account tor the suddenness of his increase and decrease over 

 certain areas of large extent, and fmd it difficult to explain wh\- he is 

 sometimes met with in numbers swimmino; our lakes and ri\ers, al- 

 ways in one direction. 



As might be inferred from the boreal distribution of this animal, 

 he is the hardiest of our scpiirrels. Not only does he inhabit regions 

 where the rigors of Arctic winter are keenly felt, but, refusing to 

 hibernate, he remains active throughout the; continuance of excessive 



* To be more explicit : The yield of beechnuts was good in the fall of 1.S81. In October and 

 November of that year I found Red Squirrels abounding in all parts of the region traversed — from 

 the Black River Valley to the Saranacs and Tupper's Lakes. Dr. F. II. Hoadlcy, who spent the win- 

 ter at Big Moose Lake, informs me that tlicy continued in undiminished numbers throughout the 

 months of J.inu.iry, February, and >rarch, pro\ing a serious grievance to llie trapper. 'Llie next 

 fall, that of 18S2, the nut crop failed (as it always does here on the alternate years), and I found 

 but few Red Squirrels in the Adirondacks in October and November. As the winter advanced 

 they became less and less common, and in January I did not see a single one, and ])ut two of ihcir 

 tracks, while on a snow-shoe tramp fr(nn Big Otter to Big Moose Lake. 



