132 
MAMMALIA. 
chosen, and everything was in readiness the night before. At 
daybreak the hunt commenced, and it ended only with the 
setting of the sun. Then the participants gathered at some ren- 
dezvous previously agreed upon, where a bountiful supper was in 
waiting. So many Squirrels had been killed that the hunters could 
not possibly carry them, hence the tails alone were preserved. These 
were then counted in order to ascertain which side had killed the 
greater number, the defeated party meeting the expense of the ban- 
quet. This was the “Squirrel hunt" of our forefathers. But the 
time when these animals could be ranked among; the enemies of the 
farmer has long since passed away, probably never to return. And 
yet, for some unaccountable reason, the “Squirrel hunts” still con- 
tinue — in name at least — but they have degenerated into the most 
despicable of “pot-hunts.” Not only are the Squirrels slain wher- 
ever found, though innocent of the deeds for which they were origi- 
nally persecuted, but large numbers of our insectivorous birds are 
likewise destroyed, and for no other reason than because each counts 
a certain tally in the reckoning that determines the victorious party ! 
The Gray Squirrel is easily tamed, if captured early enough, and 
being one of the most intelligent of our native mammals, makes a 
desirable pet, and may be allowed entire freedom ol movement. The 
main objection to it is its tendency to gnaw objects about the 
premises. 
In the Adirondack region its nest is invariably concealed within 
the hollow of some tree or limb, while in more temperate quarters it 
is commonly built on the outside, like that of the crow, which it 
closely resembles, and is placed either in a fork or at the point where 
a large branch leaves the trunk. Audubon and Bachman, and other 
writers, speak of these latter as “ summer nests,” affirming that the 
Squirrels spend the winter and bring forth their young in the hollows 
of trees. My experience proves the incorrectness of this statement, 
in certain localities at least ; for, in southern Connecticut, in the 
southern part of New York State (Westchester County), and in 
