9 6 
country being infested by several other species, one of which 
ranges into South America. The true skunks are confined to 
the New World ; in them the anal glands characteristic of all 
the Mustelidce reach their most complete development, and 
secrete a fluid which the animal can eject at will to a distance 
of several feet, and which possesses an odor at once the most 
powerful and intolerable of any known animal secretion. 
The fur of the skunk is very long and fine, and is much worn, 
under the euphonious designation of ‘‘ Alaska Sable.” 
The American Badger ( Taxidea americana) belongs to the 
same group as the skunk; it lives in burrows, which it exca¬ 
vates with its powerful claws, and is found through the western 
United States up to about latitude fifty-eight degrees, in Brit¬ 
ish America, though it is seldom seen east of the Missouri 
river; southward it is replaced by a well-marked variety 
(berlandieri ). The Badger of Europe ( Meles iaxus ) is an 
allied form. 
No. 20.—THE SQUIRREL CAGE. 
Among the true squirrels ( Sciuridce ) of North America, 
those generally to be found in the collection are the South¬ 
ern Fox Squirrel ( Sciurus niger) of the Gulf States ; the 
Northern Fox Squirrel (£. niger cinereus ), from New Jer¬ 
sey to Virginia; the Gray Squirrel ( S. caro linens is), United 
States east of the Missouri river, and the Red Squirrel (S . 
hudsonius), which ranges from British America to the Gulf 
States. 
The gray squirrel is subject to much variation, the black as 
well as the white squirrel belonging to this species. 
The Flying Squirrel (. Pteromys volucella ) is a pretty little 
rodent found throughout the United States, east of the Mis¬ 
souri river. Its aerial progression is merely a leap, prolonged 
by means of a fold of skin stretching between the fore and 
hind limbs on each side, which expands and bears the animal 
up for a short distance, after the manner of a kite. 
A large number of squirrels inhabit Central and South 
America; they are mostly red and black in color, but vary 
so interminably that it is often hard to tell what species a 
given specimen belongs to. Some of them are usually to be 
seen in the Small Mammal House. Examples of these are 
