129 
A squirrel’s dry-house. 
room enthusiasts. There was not a poisonous one in the 
collection, notwithstanding the fact that at least two poison¬ 
ous species must have been growing where these were 
gathered. It may interest the student of mushrooms to 
know that the genera represented were Hypholoma—two 
species, incertum and perplexum ; Armillaria, Clitocybe, 
Hygrophorus, and one of the Phalloideae. Of this latter 
there were nine individuals, all in an early stage, indicat¬ 
ing a preference for stinkhorns and a knowledge of the 
best time for gathering them. 
The fact is well established that squirrels eat mushrooms. 
Chipmunks and reds weie seen by competent observers 
making a meal of them at different times during the last sum¬ 
mer ; but it may be asserted with confidence that the stor¬ 
ing of them is not a general practice in this section. 
From boyhood I have examined squirrels’ nests wherev¬ 
er found, and I have made a special study of wood¬ 
peckers’ nests for several years, but never before observed 
mushrooms stored as in the present instance. The conclu¬ 
sion is inevitable, therefore, that this squirrel, living in a 
tract of woodland from which the trees that formerly sup¬ 
plied his store of nuts had been swept away, became an ex¬ 
perimenter, and turned his attention to the possibilities of 
mushrooms as a convenient and nutritious substitute. He 
or some neighbor, has made a discovery which may prove 
of great importance to the squirrel tribe. 
