THE GRAY SQUIRREL. 39 



manner of gathering green twigs, and of making his nest was 

 described to them. 



The squirrel's resemblance to other common animals 

 was noticed. As the horse had been our subject of study 

 for the previous week, it was the first thought of the chil- 

 dren to compare it with the squirrel. The life of " Black 

 Beauty 1 ' and u Ginger" had been vividly described and it 

 was decided that "Mr. Squirrel" must be like "Ginger" 

 because he is apt to bite. One child said that the squirrel 

 is like the horse because he has four feet ; he does not make 

 so much noise with his feet, for he is so much smaller and 

 he wears no shoes. 



It was also suggested that his face looks like a rat's, 

 and that he has claws like a cat's. We found that the 

 claws are used to aid the squirrel in clinging to the branch- 

 es of the trees. 



We carefully examined the specimen we had, and dis- 

 cussed its characteristics and its manner of living. Much 

 interest was shown in discovering the reason for its bushy 

 tail and its whiskers. I asked one of the children to walk on a 

 crack of the floor. In doing this, the child's arms were 

 naturally extended, and on being questioned as to the purpose 

 of holding his arms in that position, he replied, " I will fall 

 over if I don't." 



I then explained that the squirrel's tail serves to bal- 

 ance him when on the branches of trees, and also acts as a 

 parachute when he jumps. 



To make the use of the whiskers more clear to the 

 children, I asked a little girl to close her eyes and walk 

 across the room. She held her hands before her as she 

 walked, so that she might feel her way. We then learned 

 that the squirrel's whiskers are his feelers, and are very 

 necessary for him to measure the size of the holes in 

 trees which he wishes to enter. 



His ears are small so that they will not hinder him 

 in entering holes. 



