HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
87 
take only a little of the pulp from each berry it 
requires a vast number to provide a hungry cou- 
ple with a breakfast. Currants they do not 
touch. There is no merit in this, since they can- 
not get at them easily. They will clear a row of 
peas in an astonishingly short time, taking only 
a pea or two from each pod. The peas they are 
apt to cany away to their nests, for at the foot 
of an oak will be found a quite distressing col- 
lection of pods at any time during the season. 
Apples and pears they deal with in situ, gnawing 
a great hole in the apple like a magnified wasp 
hole. They will thus destroy every apple on a 
tree in the course of a morning after a fashion 
which would dismay any Food Controller. Peaches 
and. plums the}" carry away to the top of the 
wall, where they gnaw them unabashed before 
the very eyes of the maddened gardener. The 
nut crop they clear entire. 
They are driving away certain birds, notably 
the blackbirds and thrushes, so that I expect 
soon to be without any of these great singers 
of my lawn. Of the reputed eating of birds' 
eggs by squirrels I have no evidence. I once 
witnessed a fight between a grey squirrel and 
a jackdaw outside the latter's nest. It certainly 
sug-i'sted some impropriety on the part of the 
squirrel. The jackdaw was evidently quite an- 
noyed, since she kept up a clamour of indignation 
long after the squirrel had slipped away badly 
beaten. 
The grey squirrel was at first fairly easily 
trapped, but he is learning a good deal about 
traps, and I do not find the killing of twenty or 
thirty of these vermin in the spring affects in 
the least the destruction wrought in a garden in 
the summer months. 
'(he Office of Works has wisely ordered re- 
cently the shooting of squirrels in the park, but 
up to the present the results of this action have 
not been notable. 
The annual stripping of my own garden is a 
matter of no public interest, but the grey squir- 
rel is multiplying and is going further afield. He 
has long invaded gardens outside the park, and 
has now travelled far beyond its walls. Indeed, 
from tetters I have received I find that he is 
making his way into the open county of Surrey- 
wit li a steady persistence and in good force. 
When iie has reached the. fruit gardens and young 
plantations of Surrey and Kent we shall hear 
more. I have written this letter in the hope thai 
it may be a warning of what is impending, and 
that it may help to avert what threatens to be 
not merely an annoyance but a grave disaster. 
Yours faithfully, 
FREDERICK TREVES. 
Thatched House Lodge, Richmond Park. 
Feb. 20th, 1917." 
Some Observations on the Hairy 
Armadillo in Captivity. 
The "Arma" is extremely tame and feeds 
readily from the hand, but he has never learnt, 
and apparently never will learn, not to resent be- 
ing handled. When p : .cked up he struggles vio- 
lently, and it is very difficult to hold him for any 
length of time. He has also a great dislike to 
strangers. He will tolerate one, but when a party 
of visitors pay him a call he will usually bolt into 
his burrow, and it 'is often a matter of considerable 
difficulty to induce him to come out again. How- 
ever, if the party will keep perfectly silent, he will 
frequently come to the mouth of the burrow and 
watch them. At this point the slightest move- 
ment will drive him back and he will probably not 
return, but if they remain quiet, he will generally 
venture out after a few minutes and become quite 
friendly, even coming over and standing up against 
the sides of the run to 1 have his head scratched. 
He treats the writer quite differently. When 
filling up the holes which have been made in the 
night, or tidying the run, it is sometimes desira- 
ble to have the occupant out of the way. The 
latter, however, thinks otherwise, and nothing 
will induce him to remain inside the burrow. He 
may be sent in ten or twenty times, but in a 
moment he is out again, running round and super- 
intending operations as before. This, however, 
is a matter for satisfaction, for it is a clear sign 
of that tameness and confidence which it is the 
desire of every animal-lover to produce in his 
pet's. 
Armadillos are by no means devoid of intelli- 
gence, and they will readily learn to come to a 
whistle or the clinking of a saucer at deeding 
time. The writer's friend, as he may well call 
him, quite understands a loud knock at' the side 
of the run, close to the corner of the burrow where 
he usually sleeps, and he will almost invariably 
come out within a few minutes. Very occasionally, 
if he is not hungry, he may ignore the signals and 
not appear until an hour or two later, but this 
is generally when he has had an extra bone or 
piece of meat the day before, to oblige visitors. 
A run in the garden two or three days a week, 
if possible, is usually much appreciated by him. 
There is no attempt to escape, but, it is neverthe- 
less found advisable to follow him very closely, 
as he is very active, and will soon be out of sight 
round a corner or bend in the pathway if his move- 
ments are not carefully watched. The normal 
gait of an Armadillo is a curious jog-trot, but it 
can also run with considerable speed if necessary. 
When on these excursions, the "Arma" will fre- 
quently slop abruptly in his course and remain 
perfectly still, with his body flattened out. and 
pressed close to the ground. This appears to be- 
merely a short rest on the w ay. and after a minute 
or two he will continue his run as before. 
