THE FLYING SQUIRREL. 
Pteromys Magnificus. 
Hbrewitu we present un engraving illustrat¬ 
ing the first flying equin e! of I his kind (accord¬ 
ing to Mr. TkgktmbikiO ever seen alive in Eu¬ 
rope. We are not aware that tills species was 
ever seen in tcis country. Kvcrv country boy 
lms seen our common ti.ving squirrel (Pteromys 
volvcfTlo, Gmki.tn), but. this P. nwQtiiJItu# was 
caught iu (lie Himalayan Mountains, was first 
described by Mr. H. H. HoiinsoN. in thojournaj 
of the •• Itoyal Asiatic Society of Bengal," Vol, 5, 
183t>, under the uaiiiij of Sc(urO}>(rrit.i inaflHiJiciof; 
but Hio animal had been known to Mr. Hodgson 
many years before. This authority gives its 
habitat as the central and northern regions of 
Nepaul, and the following is his description, 
which wo qute in extenao: 
“Above, intense chestnut (the fruit), below 
and the shoulders, golden rod; tail paler than 
the body above, and tipped black, a black zone 
round the eyes, and another embracing the 
mou.Muchioa: chin pale, with ublack, triangular 
spot: nude parts of skin fleshy white; tail, cyl- 
indrieo-depressed, and considerably longer than 
the aniuiul. 
“Parachute large, enveloping6 inches of the 
SViOeRE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
of an elastic rod of cartilage, which, when the 
animal is not. using the membrane in its gliding 
flight, folds back along the outer sideof the fore 
arm, and is only thrown into action when the 
parachute is expanded. 
“Irrespective of these singular and special 
modifications of structure, the flying squirrel is 
a very interesting animal. We are accustomed 
to squirrels of small size and tolerably uniform 
coloration; whereas bore we have an aniuiul as 
largo ns a good-sized cat, and marked in a very 
elegant manner, the general color being an in¬ 
tense reddish chestnut, relieved by pale and 
dark markings on tlu» face, tall, Ac. 
“In its food and general habits the Pteromys 
closely resembles our common squirrel, feeding 
chiefly oil nuts and fruits, the former of which 
it cracks in the same manner as its English rela¬ 
tive, holding them between the fore paws or 
with the nails of one paw flexed upon the palm. 
In habits it is rather nocturnal, preferring to 
sleep during the greater part of the day, and 
feed at dusk or In the evening. The eyes, like 
those of our own dormouse and many of the 
nocturnal-feeding rodents, arc exceedingly 
prominent, the cornea being almost semi-globu¬ 
lar in its convexity. The ears are large, and 
rounded on the outer margin, in this respect 
differing from the more commonly known ani¬ 
mals of the genus Seims. When at rest the tail, 
which is much longer than the body, is brought 
over the back as far as the head, and the tip "re¬ 
turned, as shown In the sketch, in which the 
MARRIAGE. 
UV CUAUI.OTTK A. CORONER. 
Is it to clasp the hands and whisper vows that bind 
Us to a life-long duty? 
To walk some toilsome road, and then to find 
But perished beauty ? 
Or is It to Imvo two lives flow in one stream. 
With scarce a pruyorfnl murmur— 
Upon whoso waves the sunbeams sport and gleam, 
To make the love grow tinner? 
Yes more than this: if, when life’s dream is o’er, 
Ouo heart’s between us. 
And in its book wo find, forevermore. 
That naught can wean us. 
©nr J&torg-Sf^r. 
EASY TO BE MISTAKEN. 
JOHN RANDALL’S TROUBLE, AND WHAT HE 
LEARNED AND GAINED. 
“ Wir.t, you let me have it, John?" 
“No, Georgy, I can't." 
John Randall uttered his refusal of his wife's 
request very decidedly, ns If ho felt the request 
was unreasonable; and yet there was an under¬ 
current of grieved impatience in his voice, and 
She enjoyed advantages of position—her good 
clothes, lior prestige among the other wives of 
the other officials in I he print works. She was 
fastidious - perhaps a little too fastidious for her 
place. 
John Randall had reached his Inst button—a 
somewhat shiny button on a somewhat shabby 
.coat. He had tieititer time nor pretext for lin¬ 
goring. At this last moment his wife raised her 
©yes, clearly, unflinchingly, to his face. 
“Why not.?” sho asked, in her own sweet 
voice. 
It is never pleasant for a man to be called to 
ait account to an account about money (and 
of course It wns money Georgy wanted) by a 
woman, and that woman his wife. John's face 
flushed a little; a hot retort pricked the very 
tip of his tongue, but lie did not utter It. He 
was a very patient man, nat urally; and then he 
had that deep, pure lovo for his pretty wife 
which overreaches all slight shocks. 
“ I have exceeded my salary every month 
since we were married, Georgy,” he said, “ The 
first ot January will he here in a few weeks, and 
I shall not he able to moot all the bills that arc 
due. I don't feel that we ought to trifle away a 
penny of money. \ don't believe you do, either.” 
“ I shall say no more about it," she returned. 
“ I ought to wear a new pair of gloves to cal] on 
Paul's bride, but if you can’t give them to me 1 
must do without, them. ‘ 
John Randall's brain was line enough to un¬ 
derstand that this was not the acquiescence he 
LARGE FLYING 
SQUIRREL—IPeteroiixys magnificus. 
tail; length of the animal, 16 inches; of the tail, 
22inches; weight,3^ pounds. 
“ Sexes essentially similar in color. In old ani¬ 
mals the chestnut color tipped hoary, and iu the 
young black-tipped. In all, the tail beyond the 
limitsof the parachute is paler than the superior 
surface of the body, and the black point is al¬ 
ways present; so are the faeial marks, though 
they be less conspicuous in the young specimens. 
The intestinal canal is 14 feet 2 Inches long, or 
ten and a half times as long as rim body. The 
etecum is 20 inches long, very capacious, and sac¬ 
culated. Tliia species breeds in the rainy season, 
and seems to produce but one young at a time. 
In September the offspring are tolerably inde¬ 
pendent of their mother; but their flying mem¬ 
brane is much less developed than in maturity.” 
>lr. TbgktmKIKJI says: ” The great peculiari¬ 
ty in the Hying squirrels is the presence of a 
fold or duplieature of the skin extending from 
the fore to the hind leg, and between tiie two 
hinder legs and the tail. This is so admirably 
arranged that it does not in the slightest degree 
hinder the rapid progress of the animal in climb¬ 
ing from brunch to brunch, or affect in uny 
manner the ordinary use of the limbs; but 
when the animal wishes to leap from great, 
hights, as from the top of a lofty tree to the 
ground, it serves as a parachute, being extend¬ 
ed by the stretching out of tiie limbs and tail so 
as to form a nearly plane surface, as shown in 
the smaller left-hand figure in the engraving, in 
which may ulso be noticed a curved extension 
of the membrane on the outer side of each fore 
puw. This extension Is accomplished by the aid 
artist has admirably rendered the attitude and 
expression of the animal. 
Robert KRNMCOTT, in his “ Quadrupeds of 
Illinois” (see Vol. 2 Trans. 111. State Ag. 8oe.), 
describes our common flying squirrel, Pteromya 
mluccUa, and says it is as active as the true spe¬ 
cies, but is nocturnal: does not move by day, 
except in cloudy weather; seldom travels on 
the ground, but sails gracefully from tree to 
tree, running up toward the top of one, and 
alighting lower on the trunk of another. He 
says wherever i t is found at all it exists in gre at- 
cr numbers limn is generally supposed; Mint, if 
in passing through the woods one strikes the 
sides of old hollow trees, he will frequently see 
numbers of them rush out of a hole,anil sail off 
iulo the neighboring frees. It does not. build 
nests i>f leaves among the branches like the true 
squirrels, though Mr. Brkndel assorts that a fe¬ 
male was observed by him to bring forth in a 
deserted bird’s nest. Throe to six young are 
produced at a birth. Their food is said to be 
similar to that of the true squirrel. It eats 
corn and other grain, though in inconsiderable 
quantity, since it doas not willingly leave the 
trees in search of food. 
-- 
Where Toads are Appreciated.—' Toads are 
stud to be a regular article of trade in the En¬ 
glish markets, selling readily at 2o cents apiece, 
lor service in the gardens, where their useful- 
ness t*;* yisect de«; »•» >\s i. h i>v»roci&t©d. 
• Otwlmrd Onolv, a wren, Robertson says, 
is too little known and appreciated by orchard- 
ists. It devours hosts of worms and noxious in¬ 
sects, and is t he ifiost Industrious bird he knows 
a look of perplexity and self-dissatisfaction in 
his eyes. He wanted to see his wifo rise from 
the breakfast-table, and thereby signify her ac¬ 
quiescence in ids decision, before he went off for 
his morning walk to the mill. 
Georgie, however, did not rise. Hor looks did 
not express acquiescence. She was a pretty 
woman—very pretty; tall, slight, very fair, 
with large, dear, steady eyes and profuse brown 
hair. Besides her beauty, she had an air of deli¬ 
cate, graceful composure rather peculiar, and a 
voice that, suggested alto flute notes. For all 
this she was Simply the wife of a master ma¬ 
chinist In the great. Haliburton Print Works of 
Millville, and mistress of one of t he small, white 
factory tenements, whose long, orderly rows 
constituted Mil villa proper. 
But Georgie did not belong to the factory 
element, although she hud married into it. She 
had been brought up by a relative, upon whom 
she had been left dependent, and whom she 
culled Aunt Appleton. 
Aunt Appleton lived at the other end of Ap- 
ploton—the west end—among the Haliburtons, i 
rhe Dilloways, and the Verses. 
Perhaps, under the circumstances, Georgie 
might have looked a little higher than John 
Randall. Jiul then John was as good as gold 
—strong, steady, munly, true. 
Aunt Appleton had tiie sense to rejoice at the 
perception of her pretty protege, and thegener- 
osity to give her a liberal outfit—her furnit ure, 
a complete wardrobe, a nice wedding. 
It had been very agreeable to Georgy to have 
these things. She was fastidious to (he core. 
wanted. He would like to indulge her, but 
there was the fact that, if be begun it, he should 
be always behindhand, always poor. 
This was hts fact. Georgy had hers, also—that 
she was always to be denied and disappointed. 
She didn't mlml so much wearing the old gloves 
oti this occasion; that which troubled her, which 
was wedging itself painfully into her convic¬ 
tions, was that sho would have to give up all 
the little luxuries and elegancies that she so 
craved ; that her future was to be a plain mat- 
tor-of fact, routine, deprived of those gratifica¬ 
tions In whoso absence she felt a sort of moral 
starvation, 
“ It don’t, seem as if you ought to be disap¬ 
pointed, Georgy,” said the husband, finally. 
“ You know Just what my salary is, and just 
how far if. will go. Wo used to talk about saving 
something every year, so that I might better 
myself one of these days. 1 don’t like to deny 
you.” 
“Nevermind,” she said, rising. 
She was one of those women who say too little 
rather Ilian too much. 
John went o(T to bis work. Bridget, the glrl- 
of-all-work, came iu to clear t he table. Georgy 
dusted the parlor, and made the pudding, fed 
the canary, and t hen placet! the sewing machine 
in the window, facing the dull, leaden light of 
the November day, and sat down to stitch wrist¬ 
bands. She had been married more than a year, 
and was making her first shirt for John. She 
was very thoughtful,-a dogged pain on her face 
all the while. 
“ Perhaps T shall stay to Aunt Appleton's to 
