100 
AMERICAN AGrRICULTURIST, 
i March, 
SQUIRRELS OP THE NORTHERN 
[COPYRIGHT SECURED.] 
AND EASTERN 
STATES .— Drawn and engraved for the American Agriculturist 
A Squirrel Congress was probably never 
convened, and so, in all likelihood, no such 
committee-meeting was held as our artist has 
represented. Of all hard things to draw and 
engrave, one of the most so is a squirrel’s 
tail,—so light and airy, and graceful and thin, 
and delicate,—each hair distinctly banded, of two 
or three colors, and all, one moment in elegant 
confusion, and the next, jerked into the most 
precise order. Our artist, we have no doubt, 
agrees with us. This beautiful group represents 
the common American species of this family. 
The squirrels of our northern woods are the 
following: The Great Gray Squirrel, called 
also Cat or Pox Squirrel {Sciurus einereus) ; the 
Common or Little Gray Squirrel {Sciurus Gar- 
olinensis)'^ the Black Squirrel, a variety of the 
same species; the Red Squirrel {Sciurus Hud- 
sonicus) ; the Plying Squirrel {Pteromys rolu- 
cella), and the Striped Squirrel or Chipmunk 
{Tamias Striatus). The two species of Gray 
Squirrels are much alike, except in size, the 
Gi'eat Gray being muoh heavier, more robust, 
having a broader head. The color of the Little 
Gray Squirrel varies greatly, it being sometimes 
red, and again becoming quite black, so that the 
variety was long regarded as a distinct species. 
The squirrels are so familiar to our readers 
that a i^articular description of them would 
be unnecessary, even had we space, and we 
might easily fill this number of the Agricultur¬ 
ist with the accounts of different kinds; for, be¬ 
sides those we have named, there are several oth¬ 
er distinct species inhabiting the United States. 
These livel}", agile, and beautiful denizens of 
our forests, retreat reluctantly before the ap¬ 
proach of civilization, and most of them need 
only a little encouragement to become familiar 
as door-yard pets. They are all easily domes¬ 
ticated, and are playful and mischievous. The 
Gray and Black Squirrels retreat together to 
the mountains and thick woods from near set¬ 
tlements ; but the Red and Striped ones remain 
in the stone-walls and open woods, and even in 
our barns and granaries, when not driven off. 
The introduction of squirrels into city parks 
and pleasure-grounds of late years has been pro¬ 
ductive of much gratification; but these pets are 
destructive to the birds, whose eggs and j'oung 
they devour; they eat also the buds of trees. 
They are on the whole undesirable, and cannot 
be recommended as useful tenants of such 
IDlaces, except in the midst of large cities, where 
birds are at best only occasional residenta 
The Plying Squirrel is one of the most inter¬ 
esting of our quadrupeds. Possessed of all the 
other powers of its family: climbing, running, 
jumping from limb to limb and from tree to tree, 
as freely as any of them—it has another dis¬ 
tinguishing peculiaritj''—namely, that of flying, 
or, more properly, sliding on the air from one 
elevation to a lesser one. In these flights it is sup¬ 
ported by the thin double skin, which is stretched 
between its fore and hind legs, and no doubt 
also by the broad tail. This species is perhaps 
more easily domesticated, and more gentle, 
docile and affectionate than any of the others. 
The extreme length of the different species of 
squirrels is as follows: Large Gray, 24 to 26 in.; 
Little Gray and Black, 20 to 23 inches; Red, 
13 to 15 inches; Chipmunk, 9 to 10 inches; 
Plying Squirrel the same size or a little less. 
