in some of the valleys of those mountains, it is not less frequent; but in the northern districts, it appears to be unknown.

The form of this animal 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, much-compressed, acute claws, and a rudimentary inner toe, reduced to a mere knob. The hind limbs are proportionally larger, 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 are also equal. On the hind feet, the first toe is very short, the second longer than the fifth, the third and fourth the longest, and about equal. It has complete clavicles.

The incisors of the upper jaw are rather short and chisel-shaped; those of the lower jaw 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 colour of the upper parts is brownish-red, minutely dotted with yellowish-gray, the hairs being marked with brown, and whitish; 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 bristles about the mouth dark brown. The length of the squirrel to the end of the tail is usually nine inches. The female is smaller than the male, and generally of a lighter colour.

The colour is redder in the young than in adults, in whom it is seldom destitute of a gray tinge, owing to the minute markings already described; and, in some instances, the gray predominates over the red. In April and May, the hair of the upper part assumes a singularly faded appearance, losing its gloss, and assuming a light yellowish tint. In the latter month, the process of depilation commences, to be completed by the end of June, when the ears are destitute of tufts. It appears that the long hairs which fringe the ears are not proportionally longer than the rest until November; that they then gradually lengthen, attain their extreme length in spring, and remain unshed till June. In the northern regions of Europe, the gray is more decided in winter, and the fur of denser and finer texture.

The agility of squirrels is, indeed, surprising. The rapidity with which they run up or down a tree, head foremost, going out even on slender twigs-the leaps they will take from one to another, or from bough to bough, and the skill with which they dodge entirely out of sight, when pursued, alike baffle description. It is a very difficult thing to shoot a squirrel in motion. They have been seen, when hard pressed, and when the distance to the next tree has surpassed their most extravagant leaps, to throw themselves off, spreading abroad their limbs, so as to make their body as parachutelike as possible, to break the fall; and, on reaching the ground without harm, bound along for the few intervening paces, and ascend the tree with a celerity almost too quick for the eye to follow. The squirrel, when in motion, always keeps its tail depressed.

The squirrel feeds on nuts, beech-mast, acorns, buds, and the bark of young branches, generally, while eating, sitting on its haunches, with its tail elevated, holding the food between its paws, and dexterously unshelling the kernel, from which it even removes the outer pellicle before munching it. In autumn it lays up a store of provisions for winter, but usually in an irregular manner, depositing nuts in different places in the ground, and in the holes of trees. When the cold weather commences, it becomes less active, and often dozes for days in its retreat, but it does not become absolutely torpid; and it has been seen abroad in the midst of a most severe snow-storm. If the weather be comparatively mild, it exhibits its usual activity, feeding on bark and twigs.

The squirrel does not reside entirely on trees, but frequently takes to the ground, where it moves with nearly equal agility, leaping like a rabbit. The female produces three or four young, about midsummer, which are deposited in a nest formed of moss, fibrous roots, grass, and leaves, curiously interwoven, and placed in a hole, or in the fork between two large branches.

In the middle of May, the children of a gentleman took a young squirrel from the nest, at an age when it had begun to eat a little, though it was still nursed by its mother. Its captors placed it

under the care of a cat, who had then one kitten, all the rest of the litter having been drowned. The cat nursed the little squirrel with her own offspring for about a week, at the end of which time the squirrel was transferred to another cat, having, however, two surviving kittens instead of one. The cats treated the fosterling with a grave kindness, though the first was naturally a fierce, ill-tempered creature, and the second was no less remarkable for a gentleness of disposition very uncommon in her race.

The young squirrel remained under the care of its new nurse for another week, and lived on terms of perfect amity with the kittens, as well as the cat. Though she constantly nursed him, he readily ate biscuits, potatoes, and sugar moistened with water-the last being always his favourite food. He also drank, even at this time, great quantities of water, a practice which he regularly continued. As tame as possible, he ate out of the hand, and allowed himself to be fondled as much as was consistent with his restless nature.

When removed from the cat, he was kept for a short time in a large cage, which had been occupied by doves; but, being very unhappy in confinement, he was soon set at liberty, without much hope of seeing him again. But, though he rejoiced at finding himself among the trees, and immediately began his frolics in the branches of a laurel, he seemed to have no notion of withdrawing from his friends. Without any timidity or shyness, he came down from the tree the same evening,

ate a piece of biscuit from his owner (one of the children of the family), and became from that time more familiar and amusing than ever.

After he had been for several days separated from his foster-nurse, and kept in the cage, he was introduced again to the cat and the kittens. He seemed quite in ecstacies at meeting them again; they, too, were greatly charmed with the visit, and they tumbled about and played with him as kindly as possible. As soon as the cat appeared, "Puss," as he was cålled, ran up to her in delight, and, sitting upon his hind legs, licked her mouth, while she affectionately licked him all over; finally, he climbed on her back, and sat on her head.

But when they saw him two or three weeks after their first separation, though he was quite amicably disposed, the kittens, who were lying in the sun quietly with their mother, flew at him, and attempted to kill him. He did not at first show the least alarm, evidently not understanding their hostile intention, but when he was attacked by both, he was terrified, and made his escape. What is very remarkable is, that all this time the cat seemed to recognise her fosterling, and remained very quiet, without making the least attempt to hurt him. This was the last time that the squirrel saw the cat and kittens.

"Puss," though now fully at liberty, and able to feed himself out of doors, continued to frequent the house, and went several times a day to be fed, and to have a romp with the various members of the family. He was a most amusing little pet, full of fun and frolic, like all squirrels, and tame to a degree that could not be surpassed.