The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-04-21
THE GRAY SQUIRREL.

Ii only COnC6lL anu COulSHLlOuSuSoo
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 in his cho-
sen haunts. The black squirrel in
turn fouts the gray and drives him
out, and the gray revenges himself
by stealing the hoardings of his low
ly brother, the ground 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
and learn to dodge at the sight of
armed hunters ever so much more
quickly than the other sorts. They
learn also to differentiate. While the
sight of man with gun makes them
whisk away around trees or lie crouch
ed fiat against high branch, they
will hop boldly out before one un-
armed, chattering saucily and even
coming within a yard or two for nut
or berry.
The squirrel family are epicures.
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 walnuts. Instead, they
bury the bitter ones few inches un-
der the earth and leave them undis-
turbed until spring, when the acorns
are ready to sprout. Then, by ma
ture's alchemy, the bitter has become
sweet, the starch in the cotyledons
having turned to sugar and the as
tringent taste almost vanished.
Science says we owe to the squirrel
planters much the larger part of our
oak forests, as well as some nut
woods.
Occasionally a squirrel ventures
into a wild strawberry field. But it
is only occasionally. His two chief
enemies, the big blue hawk and the
black snake, have too good chance
at him there. More commonly he
saves his fruit tooth until mulberries
are ripe, contenting himself mean
while with sucking eggs as fast as
they are laid. He can plumber the
nests only of small birds. Robins,
catbirds, jays and thrushes 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 mu1berries swell and
grow black and full of rich juice there
is truce throughout the wood, es-
pecially those along the water side.
1Hv.Sbody needs to steal anything.
nifd and beast find spread for them a
IA week after mulberr1es ripe
young squirrels are in their prime
! It is amazing what different favc
! the fruit puts into the flesh. Fo
the whole summer, indeed, a tende
t squirrel is tidbit. Mulberries las
until the early corn is in the roastin,
ear, and before the late fields hardel
hazelnuts are in the milk. Ten &C
tive squirrels left undisturbed will
; make away with the best of an acr
of corn. The furry marauder rum
. up the stalk, whips off the husk anC
gnaws the milky grains until he can
not hold another. A popularity i
that he never returns to half eater
ear, but pitches on fresh one. Like
wise, though he may snatch nu
from another squirrel and run of
with it, he will never eat it if the frs
owner has gnawed through the ker
mel.
1t is a liberal education in dainty
feeding to watch squirrel rifing a
hazel copse. The nuts grow in clus,
tiers at the very tips of slender stems.
'Mr. Long Tail" runs down the stem
as far as he dares, lies along it, and
reaches with his fore paws and catches
the nut cluster. Still holding it fast,
he backs a little, then sits upright,
holding the green frilled cluster fast,
and sinks his sharp teeth in one nut
after another and sucks out the ker-
mel. Then when he has eaten the
very last he lets the hull fly back to
place. 1t may have held a 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 plunder corncribs set out about the
same time, commonly about the first
of October, in search of new feeding
grounds. Often they travel hundreds
of miles, crossing considerable rivers
by the way. This is the more won
derful because commonly they have
great fear of water. They swim well
for a few yards, but beyond that the
big bushy tail drags them down. In
the migrating, old hunters say, they
develop faculty very close to reason.
When broad stream is reached they
run up and down it, hunting for bits
of stick or bark small enough to be
moved and light enough to float them
over. Upon these improvised RATS
they get safely across by taking pains
to keep their tails out of the water
WezO York Sun.
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