The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-07-04

spot seems to have filtered into theil
| little minds and souls with result thai
| they are away above the old-time SPUR
| rel in point of intelligence. With very
little trouble they may be tanned, and
| thereafter taught tricks that even an
old, wel-loved house dog might envy.
| There is a certain professor of politi,
| cal economy on Church street whose
| pencfant is gray squirrels. He has le-
| gion of the little fellows crawling about
him and winking their tails at him
| whenever he makes his appearance on
| his front porch. He takes the trouble tC
| tame them and teach them all the pop
ular tricks that one looks for in the dog
whose mistress bathes and combs him
twice a week.
There is a certain squirrel of the pro-
fessor's brood, or flock, or tribe, or
whatever the squirrel collective may be,
that crawls upon his knee whenever he
sits on the lowest step of the porch and
begins to crack the loved nuts for the
little fellows. There the squirrel sits
upon his launches and reaches out with
his very handlike paws for the meats as
they are picked out for him. His zeal
knows no bounds, and if the kindly pro-
fessor does not crack the nuts with the
rapidity he deems proper he gets right
down under the hammer almost and
seizes the walnuts as they splinter, dig
ging out the meats himself, loath to
wait. And around in front Of the pro-
fessor, at his feet, sit a dozen other of
the little fellows, more timd than their
brave fellow, in a crescent cycling every
motion of the hand that Yields the ham,
ner and scrambling for the shells tossed
them like family of Panama picka-
ninnies for a PENNY.
Now and again they fight, and the
older squirrel Che who sits upon the
knee of his human frienD must needs
jump down and cuff the ringleaders of
the disturbance right smartly. Then,
when peace is restored be leaps back
upon the friendly knee and the meal
proceeds. To one who loves animals
there is much of interest in a study Of
these common squirrels.
To see them bury a nut and mark the
spot after a manner individual with
each of them Is a lesson in itself. For
be 1t known from observation, Tom
Squirrel cannot find the nut that Dick
Squirrel has buried, nor Harry find the
cached store of either. This Is one of
the most astonishing features of the
cacheing scheme these little fellows
have for preserving their food. One Of
the easiest ways to tame them Is with
English walnut meats Toss a meat to
your timid squirrel. He will sit UP in
front of you and eat 1t In very human
way, BY 1t his palate will be so tickled
that for another taste he will deign to
approach you much closer Do this
over and over again and inside of
week you will have the little chap chirp-
ing and scratching at your door each
morning for his English walnut break
fast, which he will gladly take from
your hand withkone of his own, for those
fore things of his are deal more like
hands than paws.
This general feeding of the squirrels
here in Ann Arbor has brought to light
a most human and peculiar trait that
the frisky animals have developed
They have come to depend upon the
nuts given them by great hobnailed
mankind and have ceased to collect
stores of their own. These squirrels
that we all love here are nothing more
or less than vagabond without visible
means of upport-trampS, beggars, in
whom laziness has become deep seated.
Only now and again is one of them to
be seen burying a walnut; 1t is only the |
of the instinct that can
never be completely downed, for they
seem to know that their meals will be |
given them as regularly as desired by
the great, long, two-legged things that |
they have come to be friends with. af- |
ter having considered them for untold |
aged as their natural enemies.
With demonstration comes the disease |
IF domestica ton to the gray squirrels |
that so delight the strangers in Ann Ar
Fat as they can we'll be, |
sleek and sleepy, they whisk about the
greens here as though on dress parade
They wait patiently for the nuts to be
cracked for them, and when offered
hem devour them apace without any
.hought of the rainy day of squirrel
hood.
1t is too bad, but it is true. In the de-
oartment of zoology they are studying
he little fellows, and have come to the
conclusion that the domestication of the
animal kills all its finer instincts and
rats that are of SO much valVe to it in
is void state.
But degenerateS or not, the gray
squirrels who wink their tails at the !
,assers-by from the trees of Ann Arbor
md eat their dinners from the hands of
he graciously disposed will continue to
re loved, watched over and protected by