3Y6 VERTEBRATA. 
rare in tlie 'Now England States, and is nowhere so common as the gray squirrel ; it is, however, 
often seen in tlie western parts of New York and Pennsylvania. It lives and breeds with the gray 
squirrel; is of the same size, form and habits; both white and gray are sometimes found among 
the young in the same nest. 
The Gray Squirrel is ten to twelve inches long; the tail, which is bushy and very beautiful, ten 
to eleven inches. It is active and sprightly, living mostly in old forests where there are large 
trees of hickory, chestnut, or oak, and whether seen running aloft among the branches of these 
trees, or speeding over rocks, fallen trunks, and stumps upon the earth, is a truly splendid example 
of tlic genus to which it belongs. It goes abroad at sunrise for its food, and may be seen intently 
engaged in scratching amid the leaves, or scampering over the ground, or bounding with incred- 
ible leaps among the tree-tops. It frequently amuses itself by quacking or barking, its voice at 
such times ringing through the woods and often betraying it to the hunters. In the middle of 
the day it reposes in its nest, coming forth again a few hours before sunset to pursue its sports or 
its labors. 
Its habitation for the summer is usually a nest of leaves in the fork of a tree ; in winter, it occu- 
pies some hollow- space in the branch or trunk of a tree, this being retained till the young, five or 
six in number, are produced, in May or June. They remain in the parental home, or under the 
parental charge, till the next spring, when they pair off and go to housekeeping for themselves. 
If taken young, these animals become somewhat tame, and are amusing and pleasing pets. They 
are often kept in cages with a revolving cylindrical box attached, in which they may be seen, as 
in a treadmill, exercising themselves with the greatest animation for several hours of the day. 
Sometimes these animals have been so far domesticated as to breed in the grounds around the 
house, coming to be fed Avhen called, and running familiarly over the person. In Philadelphia, 
a numerous colony of these squirrels has been bred in an inclosed square, and are objects of the 
greatest interest and curiosity. 
The Gray Squirrel feeds principally on nuts, grain, and seeds, though occasionally devouring 
the larvffi of insects; in the West, where it is abundant, it sometimes makes great havoc in the 
fields of Indian corn. In western Pennsylvania it was formerly a great pest, and in 1749, a pre- 
mium of three pence being off"ered by the government for each squirrel killed, 640,000 were de- 
stroyed. They are far less abundant now, but in some of the unfrequented parts of our country 
they are still numerous. Even in New England they are found in most of the old forests, and in 
the autumn the shooting of gray squirrels is still a favorite sport. 
The most remarkable feature in this species of squirrels is its occasional migrations, in great 
multitudes, over mountains and streams, across cleared fields and dense Avoods, seemino- to be 
guided by some necessity as to food, or some imperious but inscrutable instinct. They have nat- 
urally a strong love of home and an innate dread of water; but under the impulse of such a move- 
ment, these creatures forsake their birth-places and venture into unknown regions, and launch 
themselves upon the bosom of the broadest rivers, often with a fatal result. These emigrations 
usually take place in autumn, and a multitude of these creatures, gathered from all the surround- 
ing districts, may be seen pouring along like a stream, and sweeping over the fields and devouring 
every thing that comes in their Avay. It has been said, that on coming to a river each squirrel 
takes a piece of bark, and seating himself upon it as a boat, or placing it beneath his chin as a 
float, hoists his tail as a sail, and thus passes safely and speedily across. This beautiful story is, 
however, a mere fiction. These creatures, on coming to the Avater, after some little hesitation 
and running to and fro, launch into the waves, and paddle across as they may. They are poor 
swimmers, sink deep, and advance Avith considerable difiiculty. In October, 1833, as I was de- 
scending the Ohio in a steamboat, one of these migrations — though not remarkable for the extent 
of the numbers — Avas in progress. When Ave Avere in the region of Marietta, Ave saw hundreds — 
perhaps thousands — of these creatures in the AA'ater, making for the southern or Kentucky shore. 
In all cases, Ave only saw the nose above Avater; many Avere dead and drifting doAvn the stream; 
many Avere on the Ohio side, hesitating upon the banks, or resting on the trees, while we could 
see hundreds on the Kentucky side creeping, exhausted, upon the sandy banks, where, sad to re- 
late, were men and boys with clubs ready to dispatch them. Similar accounts have often been 
