STORY OF THE CHIPMUNK. 
Among the prettiest of the wild animals of the United States is the chip¬ 
munk, or ground squirrel. 
Who could desire a prettier coat than the chipmunk wears? The ground 
color of the fur is the same as that of the squirrel, with a simple black stripe 
running down the middle of the back, with a white stripe bordered with black 
on either side of it. There are also* two' white stripes separated by a black one 
above and below the eyes. 
The Siberian chipmunk differs from the American variety, by having four 
light-colored and fine black stripes on the body. 
The chipmunk does not live entirely upon nuts, as many suppose, although 
they are its favorite food. It is also' fond of beech-mast, various kinds of corn 
and roots and the larvae of some insects. 
Chipmunks are most numerous where food is most abundant. When they 
find a place where food is plentiful, they at once establish themselves for the 
winter, and begin to> hoard up large stores. 
Chipmunks collect an astonishing quantity of food for the winter, which is 
carried to its place of deposit in their large cheek-pouches. In addition to 
regular storehouses, these animals lay up a portion of their winter supply here 
and there beneath the leaves of the forest. In a hole tenanted by four chip¬ 
munks, Audubon relates that in the nest itself he found about a gill of corn, 
and in the communicating galleries upwards of about a quart of nuts, a peck 
458 
