The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-04-11
THE GRAY SQUIRREL
he ls-THE QUICKEST WiTTEr or
ALL OE-,++@-i ;..er.

Gun-The Peculiar Feeding Habita
OF the Squirrel Family.
II only conceit and contentiousness
were ponderable, "Mr. Long Tail" as
the negroes name the squirrel. would
weigh as much as calf. The three
sorts OF squirrels have this in common,
they war with pretty nearly every
sylvan thing and most of all with each
other. The red, or fox, squirrel will
not tolerate either the black or the
gray fellows III his chosen haunts. The
black squirrel In turn iiouts the gray
and drives him out, ana the gray re-
venges himself by stealing the hoard
ings of his lowly brother, the sroun.
squirrel
The gray sQuirrel is far and away
the quickest In wit Of the three. At
the opening Of the shooting season
Young gray squirrels become gun shy
md learn to dodge ut the sight Of arm
ID hunters ever so much more quickly
than the other sorts. They learn also
to dlferentiatc. While the sight Of
man with gun makes them whisll
away around trees or lie crouched flat
against @ high branch. they will hop
boldly out before Que unarmed, chat
tering saucily and even coming within
g yard or two for q nut or berry.
The squirrel family are cpicures.
Only the sharpest hunger will drive
them to feed upon buds or young
leaves. They will not store bitter
acorns in the nest along with hickory
nuts. chestnuts, chinquepins, sweet
acorns and wainuts. Instead, they
burg the bitter ones under few inches
Of earth and leave them undisturbed
until spring, when the acorns are ready
to sprout. Then, by natures alchemy,
the bitter has become sweet, the starch
In the cotyledons having turned to
sugar and the astringcnt taste almost
vanished. Science says we owe to the
squirrel planters much the larger part
Of our oak forests. as we'll rs some nut
woods.
Occasionally squirrel ventures into
a wild strawberry field. But 1t is only
occasionally. His two chief enemies,
the big blue hawk and the black snake,
have too good n chance Mt him there
More commonly be saves his fruit
tooth until mulberries are ripe, con-
tentlng himself meanwhile with suck
ing birds eggs as fast as they are laid.
He can plumber the nests only of small
birds. Robins. catbirds. jays and
thrushcs fight him stoutly and often
successfully. The jay, fellow thief,
makes the biggest outcry Of all, after
the manner Of thieves, great or small
But when the finger long mulberries
swell and grow black and full Of rich
juice there Is n truce throughout the
woods. especially those along the wa
ter side. Nobody needs to steal any
thing. Bird and beast find spread for
them riotous plenty.
week after mulberrles ripen young
squirrels are In their prime. 1t Is
amazing what different flavor the
fruit puts into the flesh. For the whole
summer, indeed, tender squirrel is a
tidbit. Mulberries last until the early
corn IS in the roasting eur, and before
the late fields harden hazelnuts are In
the milk. Ten active squirrels left I'M
disturbed will make away with the
best Of m acre of corn. The furry
marauder runs up the stalk, whips of
the husk and gnaws the milky grains
until he cannot hold another. A Pc
culinrity is that he never returns 10 Il
half eaten ear, but pitches on fresh
one. Likewise, though he may snatch
nut from anothes squirrel and run off
with II, he viii never eat 1t If the first
owner has gnawed through to the kcr-
nell
1t Is liberal education In dainty
e. IN xxr0f faI, 0s,s NJ ri
hazel copsc. The nuts grow in clusters
at the worry tips of slender stems.
"Mr. Long Tail" runs down the stem
as far Us he darcs, lies along it, reaches
with his fore paws and catches the nut
cluster. Still holding it fast, lie backs
little, then sits upright. holding the
green frilled cluster fast. and sinks his
sharp teeth IN one nut after another
and sucks out the kernel. Then when
he has eaten the very last lie lets the
hull fly back to place. It may have
held dozen young nuts, but he rarely
misses one.
a failure Of mast is sure to result in
the migration of squirrels. All save
the few saucy enough or bold enough
to plumber corncribs set out about the
ouiuS tlIlcs CUislulOuly' ABOUT the ISL or
October. In search Of new feeding
grounds. Often they travel hundreds
OF miles, crossing considerable rivers
by the way. This Is the more wonder
full because commonly they have great
fear OF water. They swim we'll for a
few yards, but beyond that the big
bushy tail drags them down. In the
migrating, old hunters say. they devel-
op a faculty very close to reason.
When. broad stream Is reached, they
run up-and down 1t, hunting for bits
Of stick or bark small enough to be
moved and light enough to tloat them
over. Upon these improvised RATS
they get safely across by taking pains
to keep their tails out of water.-New
York Sun.
More Than Enough.
johnny arrived at school in the morn
Ing five minutes late. He explained
that the clock at home was slow and
that the street car had broken down
with him IN hfc Synv IN cnbooJ