Evening star., 1900-09-24
WAYS OF FLYING SQUIRRELS.
The Odd Little Live Parachute of the
Woods.
From the Hartford Daily Times.

Woods.
From the Hartford Daily Times.
If there is a four-footed animal in the
New England woods which is entitled to the
name of gentleman" in the best sense or
the term that animal is the flying squirrel.
He is quiet in manner and in dress, mas an
unusually gentle disposition and attends to
his own business without making nui-
sance of himself. He has none of the I'M
pudence or pugnacity of his red cousin
and he is character of much greater re-
finement than his large and powerful rela-
tive, the gray squirrel.
Though the smallest member Of his fam
lily hereabouts, as woodsman ne Is WITH
out a superior. OF course, when 1t comes
to tree climbing and travelling through the
tops of closely grown trees the gray squlr-
rel is simply magnificent. But in the open
the flying squirrel has decided advantage.
for he can just sail through the air from
one tree trunk to another.
Like most people of real worth, he Is mod
est and unobtrusive: so much so, In fact,
that he may often live in wood for years
without any one being aware Of his pres
ence. Even when 1t is known that he is
there he is seldom seen, for he usually sets
out at dark and is rarely abroad In the day
time His appearance Is in keeping with
his character The soft, velvety fur of his
upper parts is of an inconspicuous shade or
gray and the under parts are white. The
the whiskers dark and long, and the gem
eral expression of the face good-natured
but earnest. The claws are much curved
and as sharp as fishhooks.
But the most peculiar parts of his anat-
omy are the membranes by which he is en-
abled to make his long flights, or rather
sails (for flying squirrels do not really N.Y.
through the air. These membranes one on
each side of the body, extend from the
wrist of the forefoot to the wrist OF the
hind foot, and are formed by the extension
of the skin of both the upper and lower
parts. Consequently, though quite thin.
they are of double thickness. They are
covered with short fur both above and be-
low When not in use these membranes are
inconspicuous. for, being elastic, tney con-
tract forming an irregular ridge along e eacn
side When the squirrel wishes to fly ne
springs into the air from the upper part OF
a tree. and by spreading his legs as wide as
he can stretches the membranes taut, IKE
the covering Of an open umbrella On .his
natural parachute he is able to sail for
considerable distance, but always from
high point to a lower one.
His tail also is we'll adapted to this mode
of travelling for instead of being bushy,
like those of other squirrels, II Is Nat, IKE
a feather.
In travelling through a wood a flying
squirrel runs to the top of one tree ana
Jumps in the direction of another one along
the line of march. For about three-fourths
the distance he descends at an angle which
varies according to the length OF the hight
and the height of the starting point, and
then with curving upshoot he allghts with
a little smack upon the trunk of the farther
tree He then runs up to the top or near
it and sails away to the next tree. and re-
peats the performance until ne mas com
pleted his Journey. AS a rule the fight is
not sharp and clean cut, but somewhat
quivering or fiuttering-at least in appear
ance This f1uttering is not, l think the
the animal, but is due, should say, to the
action Of the air upon the outer edges OF
the membrane. The same erect Is seen.
upon a larger scale, when the wind flaps
the edge of a mainsail
Some fiying SQUIRRELS build nests of leaves
in the tree tops but most of them live
in holes in the trunks and branches. ihe
last years nest Of doWny Woodpecker
makes an ideal home for flying squirrel,
and IL the tree happens to stand in swamp
ii is not likely to remain long without
tenant. Into a Gecayed trunk or branch
the woodpecker drills round hole an inch
and half in diameter and then hollows
out a chamber about a foot deep. The fol-
lowing autumn, after the young woodpack-
ers have flown, the squirrel takes posses
sion, and carries into the hole quantity
of the fine outer bark of cedar trees or
other soft material suitable for nest. In
November he retires to this snug retreat
and never SO much as pokes his nose out
until the following March. In this respect
again the flyer" differs from all the other
New England squirrels. The red squirrel
may be seen abroad in all weather, the gray
squirrel wakes up on warm days and comes
out for food and exercise, and even the lit
tie chpmunk, although he remains in RS
underground home, gets UP occasionally to
nibble at his store of grain or beechnats.
But as far as Is known the flying squirrel
sleeps the winter through.
The young are usually born In the latter
part of March. There are generally from
four to six Of them, wee, blind and naked.
but with hereditary tendency to cling to
everything they touch. The frs. hair to
appear Is that of the whiskers. which are
visible when the babies are but few days
old. A little later the cutting teeth appear
In the lower jaw, and every day the semi
transparent bodies become more and moro
fully clothed with the fine. soft fur. Be-
fore they are hidden by the hair the blue
veins can be readily traced through the dali
cate skin, particularly In the flying mem
branes. The eyes open when the youngsters
are . month old; at least that has been my