1 14 
MAMMALIA. 
Squirrel in his trap, instead of the valuable fur for which it was set. 
But if, instead of consulting the hunter’s interests, we take another 
view of the case, it is easy to see that the Chickaree is a good friend 
to the martin. He furnishes the latter with food of an exceptionally 
agreeable kind, and though it cost him his life, takes great pains to 
discover and spring the traps set for the martin’s destruction. 
He is not always to be found in equal numbers, but is influenced 
in a marked degree by the beechnut crop. In seasons when mast is 
plentiful there seems to be a Squirrel for every tree, bush, stump, 
and log in the entire Wilderness, besides a number left over to 
fill possible vacancies. When, on the other hand, the nut crop has 
been a failure, a corresponding diminution in the numbers of Squir- 
rels is observable, and they are sometimes actually scarce.* Hence 
it is clear that while the diet of the Red Squirrel is varied, his staple 
commodity is the beechnut, the yield of which in any year deter- 
mines his abundance in the succeeding winter and spring. That 
he migrates, on a small scale at least, is a fact concerning which there 
can be no reasonable doubt : on any other hypothesis we are at a 
loss to account for the suddenness of his increase and decrease over 
certain areas of large extent, and find it difficult to explain why he is 
sometimes met with in numbers swimming our lakes and rivers, al- 
ways in one direction. 
As might be inferred from the boreal distribution of this animal, 
he is the hardiest of our squirrels. Not only does he inhabit regions 
where the rigors of Arctic winter are keenly felt, but, refusing to 
hibernate, he remains active throughout the continuance of excessive 
* To be more explicit : The yield of beechnuts was good in the fall of 1881. In October and 
November of that year I found Red Squirrels abounding in all parts of the region traversed — from 
the Black River Valley to the Saranacs and Tupper’s Lakes. Dr. F. H. Hoadley, who spent the win- 
ter at Big Moose Lake, informs me that they continued in undiminished numbers throughout the 
months of January, February, and March, proving a serious grievance to the trapper. The next 
fall, that of 1882, the nut crop failed (as it always does here on the alternate years), and I found 
but few Red Squirrels in the Adirondacks in October and November. As the winter advanced 
they became less and less common, and in January I did not see a single one, and but two of their 
tracks, while on a snow-shoe tramp from Big Otter to Big Moose Lake. 
