The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
FLYING SQUIRRELS WAYS:
THE ODD LITTLE LIVE PARACHUTE
or THE WOODS.
How He Makes His way by Successive Ascen.
sions OF Trees and slides on Air- Gentle.
ness OF the Mother squirrel when Dt,-
turbed In the Care of Her Young Ones.

From he Hartford DAILY Times.
II there Is a four-footed animal In the New
England woods which Is entitled to the name
OF gentleman" In the best sense OF the term,
that animal Is the flying squirrel. He Is quiet
In manner and In dress. has an unusually gentle
disposition. and attends TO his own business
without making a nuisance OF himself. lie
has none Of the impudence or pugnacity 81 hs
red cousin. and he Is a character Of much greater
refinement than his large and powerful Ella
tive. the gray squirrel.
Though the smallest member Of his family
hereabouts, ~ a woodsman he II without a
superior. or course when II comes 10 trcr-
climbing and travelling through the tops 4
closely grown trees. the gray squirrel Is simply
magnificent. But In the open woods, where
the trees stand farther apart. the flying squirrel
has a decided advantage. for he can Just sal
through the air from one tree trunk 10 another.
Like most people Of real worth. he il modest
and unObtrusive' SO much 80, In fact. that lie
may often live in n wood for wears without iuy
one being aware Of his presence. Even when
il Is known that he is there he Is seldom seen,
for he usually sets out at dark and T. rarely
abroad in the daytime, His appearance is IN
keeping with his character. The soft vcl,cry
shade of gray, and the under parts are white.
The black eyes are very large and prominent,
expression Of the face good-natured but earncs'.
The. claws are much curved and as sharp AZ
fshhoOks.
But the most peculiar parts Of his anatomy
are the membranes by which he is enabled to
make his long flights, or rather sails QOr flying
squirrels do not really fly through the ar.
These membranes. one ON each side Of the body,
extend from the wrist Of the %foretOot 1.-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 81
double thickness. They are covered with short
fur both above and below When not ~ use
these membranes are inConspiCuuus for, being
elastic. they contract, ornlHg an irregular
ridge along each side. When the squirrel wIsh",
10 fly. he springs into the air from the upper
part Of a tree. and by spreading his legs a. wide
as he can. stretches the membranes taut, like
the covering Of an open umbrella on me nat
bic distance, but always from a high point to
lower one.
His tail also is well adapted TO this mode Of
travelling, for instead Of being bushy like those
Of other squirrels, it is fat like a feather.
In travelling througha wood, a tylhg-s9uirrel
runs 10 the top OF one tree. and jumps IN the dit
rection of another one along the line OF march
For about three-fourths the distance he de-
cends at an angle, which varies according 10
the length Of the flight and the height Of tho
starting point, and then with a CuryiHg upshout
he alights with a little smack upon the trunk 81
the farther tree. He then runs up TO the top
or near il. and sails away TO the next tree, ahd
repeats the performance until he. has completed
his journey. As n rule the flight Is not sharp
and clean cut. but somewhat qgiyering or Hut
tering; a. least IN appearance. This tiutteringIs
not, I think. the result of any VOLUNTARY act on
the part of the animal. but Is due, ] should say,
to the action OF the air upon the outer edges ot
the membrane. The same effect Is seen, upon
a larger scale, when the wind flaps the edge OIL
Some flying squirrels build nests Of leaves
in the tree-tops, but most OF them live IN holes
i'm the trunks and branches. The last years
nest of "A downy woodpecker makes an Ideal
home for a flying squirrel, and If the tree hap
pens to stand In a swamp. 1t Is not likely To r..
main long without a tenant. Into z decayed
trunk or branch the woodpecker drills a round
hole an inch and "A half in diameter and then
hollows out a chamber about a foot deep. The
following autumn, after the young wood
peckers have flown, the squirrel takes possess
ION, and carries into the hole a quantity Of the
fine outer bark. Of cedar trees or other soft
material suitable for a nest. In November
he retires to this snug retreat and never 80
much az pokes his nose out until the iolluNlhS
March. In this respect. again The 'hyri
differs from all the other New, England SguiI,
rels, The red squirrel may be seen abroad
in all weather the gray squirrel wakes, W "h
warm days and comes out for food and eN"f-
else, and even the little chipmunk. althougU
he remains in his underground home, GO
or beechnuts. But ~ far as is known the fyiIS
squirrel sleeps the winter throug h.
The young are usually born IN the later
part OF March. There are generally from
-four to six Of them, wee. blind and naked, but
with "A hereditary tendency TO cling tO every
that of the whiskers. which are visible wlcn
the babies are but a few days old, A it'll"
later the cutting teeth appear IN the lover
jaw, and every day the seml-transpar"nt b0dr''
become more and more fully clothed wan
fine, soft fur. Before they are hidden hy Nh"
Lair. the blue veins can be readily traced
through the delicate skin. particularly in th'
flying membranes. The eyes open when tho
been my experience with those born III ,ul'
tiyity. When about six weeks old, the NIUE
fellow begin TO crawl out OF the nest 10 Pln,,
like kittens, but more gently and to nlhhi'
the crumbs of partly eaten nuts cut into by
tie sharp teeth of the mother.
And what a lovely little mother she ~ Nh'
take. the greatest care Of them from n" tim"
they were born, She tuCks them under ben
pulls the cedar bark over then. aud BLOCK,
warm. If YOU put your finger into The l"I"
she will rake all the babies out Of harm'~ wa.
she will make "A determined effort to push 'nIr
finger out Of the hole again. fhlunE IN IIa.
have =" done at The beginning. but She will prob
ably take your finger gently IN her '"clh, ~
though to ask Won please TO he a gentleman,
and refrain from causing her any iur'h'r am
Even il you remove the Young ones, from
the nest She viii not bite you, but She viii come
out after them ~ once In evident distress u
they are near the mouth Of the hole, 80 lh,l
she ca reach them without leaving III" No
entirely she puts out her head. seizes the Young
STEERS by the neck or back with her teeth, lui
pulls them in after her, one by one bul r
shc has to leave the nest altogether, 81" llcES
the children up. turns around and pushe- 'h"'i
into the hole before her. A hl INK squirrel
once disturbed in this wav. i no, hkSll 70 AZ
low the matter to pas UNDECIDED. SHE al.
most sure 10 remove her family to q ne" h"'n"
az the first opportunity.
4 short time ago a stamford gentleman Nai
an interesting eNperienc" with a flying squire.
and he kindly gave me an account Oft. TIcr@
!. Z ni',f riyeT r " ,Ha r lMr%S gTav 'a " r ElS" ailI
a docayed branch uuon il. Wishing Ia have
the branch removed he sent M a worki.au
10 saw il of. and stood by To watch the opera
ton. Near the end 81 the branch there Wis a
small hole. aud when the saw began 10 move
he noticed the whi-keTed mead Of q f''lf
squirrel come smiling out In a moment ~
went in again. but presently, the squire re-
turned with a Young one in her mouth. ia
workman was ordered 20 stop saving, hu' 'Ha
little flyer" ran out onto the end Of the branch
and without hesitation sailed across the nN'f
Alighting upon a tree on tho opposite bank
she laid the bahv safe I'm n wide crotch ana
NJ once sailed back for another one, t"Ir
times did the brave little mother make the .irl,
until all her children were safely removed from
Tho doonIed branch what became 81 th"m
l. not p%ositively known. a. further ohseTva'ign
was prevented bv n~ightfall. II Is farl' .~'"
10 say, however, that unless a hungry owl NJ
terfcrcd with her plans, the faithful mother
had them all safe In a new home long before
daylight.
GREEN PORT IIGHT OFF LIBERTf'