492 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
British quadrupeds. Its form is compact, its body being of moderate length, 
rather full, with the back usually arched; the neck short and thick; the head 
of moderate size, with the fore part flattened; the nose prominent; the lips 
broad; the ears of moderate size; the eyes large and prominent; the anterior 
limbs of ordinary length and muscular, with four slender toes, furnished with 
large, arched, and much compressed and acute claws, and a rudimentary inner 
toe reduced to a mere knob; the hind limbs proportionately longer, with five 
toes, and similar but shorter claws; the tail nearly as long as the body and 
head. On the fore feet the lateral toes are nearly equal and much shorter than 
the middle toes, which also are equal. On the hind feet the first toe is very 
short, the second longer than the fifth, the third and fourth longest and about 
equal. The incisors of the upper jaw are rather short and chisel-shaped; those 
of the lower much longer, narrower and 
pointed. There are five grinders in the 
upper and four in the lower jaw, on each 
side. 
When the fur is complete in autumn 
it is rather long, dense and soft, the ears 
fringed at the end with longish hairs; 
the tail bushy. The general color of the 
upper parts is brownish-red, minutely 
dotted with yellowish-gray, the hairs be¬ 
ing whitish and marked with brown; the 
tail of a darker brown with a very small 
portion of the tip whitish; the lower 
parts pure white; the feet and a band 
along the side light red. The mystachial 
bristles dark-brown. The female is smaller 
than the male, and generally of a lighter 
color. In younger individuals the color 
is redder than in adults, in which it is 
seldom destitute of a gray tinge, owing 
to the minute markings above described; 
and I have seen some in which the gray 
predominated over the red. In April and 
May the hair of the upper parts assumes a singularly faded appearance, losing its 
gloss, and assuming a light yellowish tint. In the latter month the process of 
shedding begins, to be completed by the end of June, when the ears are desti¬ 
tute of tufts. It appears that the long hairs which fringe the ears are not 
proportionally longer than the rest until November, that then they gradually 
elongate, attain their greatest length in spring, and remain unshed until June. 
In the northern regions of Europe the gray color in winter is more decided, 
and the fur denser and of finer texture. 
The agility of the squirrel ', its lively disposition and beautiful form, make it 
a general favorite. It is amusing to watch it in its arboreal excursions, when one 
sees it ascending the trunk and branches with surprising speed, running out even 
on the slender twigs, always when in motion keeping its tail depressed, occasionally 
leaping from one branch to another, and when alarmed scampering away at such 
a rate that one almost expects to see it miss its footing and fall down headlong. 
