NATURAL HISTORY. 



223 



The smaller striped species, Tamia quad- 

 rivittatas, is very carnivorous. I used to 

 throw bodies of birds I had preserved for 

 specimens out of my windows, on purpose 

 to see these little fellows fight for them. In 

 confinement they are quarrelsome, and the 

 victor will eat the eyes and brain from his 

 whipped companion, almost before it »s 

 really dead. I have endeavored to get them 

 home to New York for my wife's collection 

 of living pets, but always failed; the finale 

 being always the same, the " fittest " that 

 survived was invariably a female. 



The only truly nocturnal species of the 

 Sciuridse we have is the flying squirrel, and 

 this is by far the most bloodthirsty of all. 

 Owing to its small size it cannot be of dam- 

 age to game birds, but to small birds of 

 arboreal habits it must be quite destructive. 

 In pursuit of one of my favorite fads — en- 

 tomology — I am in the habit of rambling 

 about the woods at night with a lamp spe- 

 cially made for the purpose. I have re- 

 peatedly seen the flying squirrels hunting 

 in the trees and bushes and have heard the 

 telltale squeak of their victims. I have 

 seen a whole family of these bright eyed, 

 innocent looking, little demons sliding 

 down a tree trunk where I have spread my 

 bait of molasses and beer to attract rare 

 moths. When they reach the bait they be- 

 gin to sip and lick the sweets in ecstacy. 

 Presently a large, bright winged moth will 

 hover round and alight on the bait. Then 

 the squirrels will show their real nature, 

 and the moth is caught. Finding their prey 

 so easily attained, they go from tree to tree 

 unless I stop the fun. I caught one and 

 kept it more than 2 years. It was a great 

 favorite with my family until it found its 

 way to our aviary where it killed a pair of 

 canaries and ate 5 eggs the first night. We 

 found it comfortably sleeping in the 

 canaries' nest and the rightful proprietors 

 without their heads. After this it managed 

 to kill and eat about a dozen birds of va- 

 rious species, at different times, until I 

 made a " specimen " of it at last. The fly- 

 ing squirrel is quite common, I might say 

 abundant, yet seldom seen, owing to its 

 nocturnal habits. Let any person desiring 

 to get specimens take a few common Chi- 

 nese fire crackers, on a fine bright day in 

 early fall, and stroll through any wood 

 where beech or oak grows. When he 

 comes to a partially hollow tree, let him 

 light a fire cracker and drop it in the hole 

 of the tree. If he has good luck he will 

 see — what he will see. I have seen more 

 than a dozen flying squirrels frightened 

 from one tree, so thoroughly scared, too, 

 that they were almost all caught alive. On 

 a bright day they appear to be confused by 

 the sunshine and will alight on a tree trunk 

 and press themselves quite flat, as if for 

 concealment. I never knew one to at- 

 tempt to bite when handled. 



David Bruce. 



AN ODD FRIENDSHIP. 



Fredonia, N. Y. 



Editor Recreation: May 1, 1897, I 

 moved to Point Chautauqua. Having 

 rented a cottage and being there for pleas- 

 ure only, I proceeded to surround myself 

 with pets. 



I had a dog for a starter and soon a small 

 kitten was presented to me. The kitten was 

 a homely little thing but we soon became 

 much attached to it. 



About a week after the kitten arrived, 

 while walking through a piece of woods, I 

 captured a young crow with but few feath- 

 ers. I took him home, adopted him and be- 

 came father, mother and all to the bird. 



Then the fun commenced. The little beg- 

 gar could eat all day and cry for more the 

 minute one stopped feeding him. He was 

 tame and easy to handle on account of his 

 appetite, and we greatly enjoyed his pranks. 

 The kitten took a fancy to the crow and as 

 the crow returned the feeling they became 

 fast friends. They were inseparable and as 

 they grew older they became more fond of 

 each other. 



They would eat, sleep, play and fight like 

 2 children. Every morning, just after sun- 

 rise, they would stroll over the meadow ad- 

 joining our place in search of field mice. 

 They were generally successful on these 

 trips, the crow always capturing his share 

 of the game. After their breakfast they 

 would sit on the wood pile, back of the 

 house, and clean themselves. Then it was 

 time for play. This would usually last until 

 noon, but sometimes they would " come to 

 blows " and that settled it until after dinner. 



They would play hide and seek, and tag; 

 they would wrestle, the cat embracing the 

 crow and rolling over and over with him. 



The only means of protection the crow 

 had was his bill, and he could use it to ad- 

 vantage when obliged to, though he was 

 not pugnacious. 



It was no uncommon thing to have the 

 dog, cat and crow follow me across the 

 fields when I started for a hunt. About 3 

 o'clock every afternoon the cat and crow 

 would retire to a cool spot under the front 

 veranda and there sleep side by side for an 

 hour or so. 



When I moved from Chautauqua to this 

 place I brought the pets with me, but after 

 being here 2 weeks the crow died, evidently 

 from change of diet. I sent him to a taxi- 

 dermist and had him mounted. When he 

 was returned to me I put him on the floor, 

 and brought the cat into the room where 

 the crow was. 



She spied the bird and, crouching low, 

 slowly approached him. When right be- 

 neath him she raised up and began licking 

 his bill and then tried to catch him by the 

 neck and roll over with him. 



It was a pathetic as well as amusing sight 

 and I shall never forget it. 



H. D. Kirkover, Jr. 



