GENERAL NOTES 
243 
After studying the California species of Phenacomys, I can see nothing to be 
gained by adopting the subgenus Arborimus Taylor. Most of the characters on 
which it is based are either very slight, or inconstant. It seems to me that the 
genus is an unusually well-defined one, and that nothing whatever can be gained 
by further division. However, if a subgenus must be recognized, let it contain 
only longicaudus, and be based upon the arboreal habits and hairy tail of that 
species, rather than on ill-defined characters that can be segregated only with 
considerable difficulty. 
— A. Brazier Howell. 
NOTES ON FLYING SQUIRRELS AND GRAY SQUIRRELS 
It does not seem to be generally known to lovers of the out-doors that the 
flying squirrel is well distributed over a large area of the United States and 
Southern Canada. On March 27, while taking a walk in the woods of the bluffs 
of the Mississippi River, I tapped a dead poplar tree which looked to me as if the 
cavity in it might be the home of a flying squirrel. Within a few seconds, a 
flying squirrel did come out of the hole, but it was evidently very reluctant to 
leave its comfortable nest. It ran to the other side of the tree, entered by 
another hole and came out of the first hole again. This it did five times. My 
friend and I thought at first that we had discovered the home of a whole family 
of squirrels, but soon discovered that the little creature had been fooling us on 
the census. At last it climbed up to the top of the dead tree and then disap- 
peared in the top of a live basswood to the right. 
We returned to the same tree in about half an hour and again, by tapping 
the nest tree gently with a stick, induced the squirrel, which by this time had 
returned, to come out. On this occasion it uttered a rat-like squeak as it climbed 
up on the other side of the tree and again made for the top of the basswood. From 
that position it glided away about sixty feet to the bottom of another tree lower 
on the slope, gracefully clearing any of the intervening branches. On the 1st of 
April, I again visited the place. This time I had a camera with me and although 
I found it rather difficult to drive out the squirrel, and also take a picture, I suc- 
ceeded in getting one fair photograph. The squirrel again had to be driven out 
several times before he finally left the nest and disappeared in the top of the 
basswood. 
On April 10, I took a walk through the same woods and discovered in a scarlet 
oak tree near a field and a pasture, one of the well-known leafy squirrel nests 
about twenty feet up. The nest looked quite fresh and, when a friend tapped the 
tree with a stick, a large gray squirrel came out, apparently quite reluctant to 
leave the nest. As neither of us was dressed for climbing trees, we left the place 
without examining the nest. The next day, I returned and climbed the tree. I 
found the nest a very well-built, compact structure with a small entrance on the 
southwest side near the top. In the nest were four young. Although it had 
rained quite a little on the preceding day and for several hours during the night, 
the nest which was lined with very fine, soft grass, was perfectly dry, the struc- 
ture being apparently rain proof. I took the young out, carried them down in 
my hat, covering them up carefully, and photographed them. 
