FAT SQUIRREL. 
" In Italy, where these animals are still 
eaten, the natives dig pits in the woods, and 
strew them with straw, moss, and beech-mast. 
They chuse dry places, under the shelter of 
rocks, and with a southern exposure. To 
these the Fat Squirrels resort in great num- 
bers v and the people find them there, in a 
torpid state, towards the end of autumn, when 
they are in the best condition for eating.. 
These small animals are bold,. and defend 
their young to the last extremity. Thev bite 
violently with their fore-teeth, which are 
very. long,, and of great strength. They nei- 
ther fear the Weasel, nor small birds of prey. 
They escape from the Fox, because it cannot 
follow them to the tops of trees. Their most 
formidable enemies are the Martins, and the 
Wild Cats,. 
" The Fat Squirrels are not generally dif- 
fused. They appear not in very cold climates, 
such as those of Lapland and Sweden ; ; at ~ 
least, they are not mentioned. by the northern 
naturalists : the species they describe is the 
Dormouse.?, which is the least of- the three 
Neither, 
