480 
MAMMALIA. 
it eats the seeds of the pines and fir-trees, which it expertly 
extracts from the cone. So great are the strength and sharp- 
ness of its teeth that it readily perforates the hardest nntshell 
to extract the kernel ; and in doing so it usually sits up and holds 
the food to its mouth with the fore-paws. 
Among other qualities, it has the instinct of forethought, and 
stores provisions in summer, so that it may not suffer from 
hunger in winter. It even takes further precautions, and, in- 
dependent of its principal storehouse, conceals food in various 
places, that it may not be left destitute should intruders dis- 
cover the principal magazine. It usually accumulates these 
reserves in the trunks of trees, occasionally in the ground ; and 
its memory is so good that it remembers perfectly where they are 
situated. 
It scarcely ever leaves its lurking place during midday, par- 
ticularly if the sun is bright, but enjoys a siesta in its nest — a real 
nest, comfortably lined, placed in a crevice between two branches, 
or in a hole in the trunk of a tree. This dormitory is made of 
little bits of dry wood, solidly interlaced with moss, and is almost 
spherical in form ; it is large enough to lodge the father, mother, 
and three or four young ones. At the upper part is a narrow 
opening, only just sufficient for entrance and exit; but as the 
rain would find access through this aperture, the Squirrel places 
above it an oblique shelf, which carries off the water, and pre- 
serves the dwelling from becoming wet. 
These graceful, fascinating Rodents live in couples. Their 
union is not temporary, as with so many other Mammals, for 
the male continues to live with its mate during life. The 
mother manifests tenderness for her young, and this causes her 
to resort to various stratagems to shield them from surrounding 
perils. Thus, before bringing forth, she constructs several nests, 
at certain distances from each other ; and it frequently happens, 
even without any appearance of danger, but as a measure of 
precaution, she takes her progeny in her mouth, and effects a 
change of residence. In the morning, with the first indications 
of dawn, she descends with her family to take exercise, but if any 
intruder appears, she carries them off to a place of safety with 
surprising rapidity. The better to conceal her movements, she 
adopts a device truly effective. She remains concealed behind 
