NATURAL HISTORY. 



397 



•belligerent intention in the manner of the 

 red, no sign of apprehension on the part 

 of the gray. To me, nothing seems more 

 ridiculous than this idea of an animal of 

 the size, agility and game qualities of the 

 gray, allowing himself to be bullied by the 

 diminutive red. Possibly a young and in- 

 experienced gray, just venturing, for the 

 first time, timidly out into the world, might 

 be stampeded by the sudden rush of a cun- 

 ning old red, as a big hound puppy will 

 often bellow with terror at the attack of a 

 yapping black-and-tan; but that a well- 

 seasoned, shot-scarred old veteran would 

 not be equal to half a dozen of the pygmies 

 in a combat, I cannot believe. Some folks 

 are always seeing something wonderful. 

 Barnum, you know, said people like to be 

 humbugged, which is true. Some folks, it 

 would seem, even like to humbug them- 

 selves. 



As to the second offense, here again the 

 ■evidence of my experience justifies a ver- 

 dict of " Not guilty." With the exception 

 of a single instance, I have never seen any 

 signs of discord between the squirrels and 

 the birds. In this case, 2 reds frequently 

 came into a big elm near my home, where 

 there was a nest of young robins. The old 

 "birds invariably greeted them with no end 

 of noise and chatter, but, though I watched 

 them narrowly, I could never discover that 

 they had serious designs on the youngsters, 

 their motive seeming rather to be, to have 

 a little skirmish with the old birds, the same 

 as they like to start a " breeze " with you or 

 me, when we go where they are. 



Why, look at the matter on the face. 

 Think of the thousands of birds that are 

 raised every year in the very haunts of the 

 red. If he were such a pirate as is charged, 

 with his expertness at climbing trees, he 

 would long ere this have exterminated the 

 tree-nesting varieties. 



The truth doubtless is. that there is a dif- 

 ference in squirrels as in all other animals 

 — including men. Now and then, perhaps, 

 a specimen may be found bad enough to 

 gobble up a nest of young robins, but this 

 would not justify us in killing off the whole 

 species, any more than we should be war- 

 ranted in making away with every dog and 

 cat in the land, because of an occasional 

 sheep-killer or chicken-thief among them. 



No, dear reader, be not too hasty in this 

 matter. Let the red live, to scamper up and 

 down the tree-trunks and flicker in and out 

 among the branches, and fuss and bustle 

 and chatter, an element of life and gladness 

 in our already too thinly-tenanted woods. 



A WORD FOR THE RED SQUIRREL. 



Olympia, Wash. 

 Editor Recreation: I have been inter- 

 ested in discussions concerning the red 

 squirrel. I have hunted squirrels for many 

 years, where both the red and gray 

 abounded. I do not believe a gray squirrel 



was ever mutilated in the manner described 

 by some writers. I have often seen reds 

 chasing grays, but the object of the red 

 seemed to be merely to drive the gray from 

 the tree on which the red was feeding. We 

 used to think when boys that grays were 

 mutilated by reds. There was never any 

 real proof of the charge. One or 2 facts, 

 I think, explain the origin of the belief. 



Gray squirrels are bred in the latter part 

 of winter, in January or February. By the 

 next October or November they are nearly 

 full grown. But the generative organs of 

 squirrels, under a year old, do not acquire 

 full development. Hence we used to think 

 the reds had emasculated them. On close 

 observation, rudimentary testicles will be 

 found in every young gray. Young reds 

 are in the same state at the same age. Per- 

 haps somebody will claim that chipmunks 

 or mice wrought the mischief with them. 



Another consideration; reds often chase 

 the female grays during the rutting season. 



1 have seldom, if ever, noted reds after 

 grays at any other time of the year. Have 

 often seen them both feeding on the same 

 tree when nuts were plentiful. Given the 

 disposition of the red to protect its feeding 

 ground from depredation and the other 

 reason assigned and you have the explana- 

 tion of reds chasing grays. I never saw a 

 red catch a gray and never killed a gray 

 that had any marks of injury from a red, 

 and I do not believe anyone ever did. 



Reds are good food in the fall when nuts 

 are to be found, a full grown one having 

 as much meat as some of the smaller game 

 birds. I do not think they should be ex- 

 terminated. Their bright, funny ways 

 atone somewhat for their mischievousness, 

 and they are present when nothing else is. 

 They are, in fact, omnipresent. Perhaps 

 some unfavorable day you tramp through 

 the woods and find no game. But there is 

 the little red, perched up on a limb. He is 

 busy with his nut. He is not afraid of you, 

 pauses from his work to eye you an instant, 

 then goes at it again. He is a vicious little 

 scamp, it is true, but he is companionable, 

 and what lover of nature would not miss 

 him from the woods? He has his rights to 

 life, and though full of mischief is not 

 venomous. He will sometimes eat young 

 birds, but he simply lives up to his instincts 

 like other animals. 



W. A. Remick, Olympia, Wash. 



AN INDICTMENT OF THE RED. 



I have been interested in the red squirrel 

 discussion in recent numbers of RECREATION, 

 and have been inclined to swallow the ac- 

 counts of his carnivorous propensities with 



2 grains of salt. I have been a close ob- 

 server of this species for years, and felt 

 disposed to defend him. 



But while passing through the dooryard 

 a few evenings ago, near an elm tree I 

 heard something drop, and found the head- 



