The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-06-14

1 trees, thence launching itself into space clearing hundreds of feet in it's flight passing with ease from tree to tree crossing wide streams and even broad valleys in it's aerial flight It is a rather difficult object to find at it is nocturnal in its habits, in the daytime banding together in large numbers un- der the leaty branches. It is found on- ly in Sumatra, Borneo and Malacca.
 One of the prettiest of the class of flying animals is the flying squirrel This little animal is fitted with mem brane reaching from the fore to the hind limbs and extending to the wrist l of the limbs.
 ''They are exceedingly lively and seem to extract much enjoyment from their flights, and in places where they are abundant a dozen or more may sometimes be seen enjoying themselevs together. Bounding lightly into the air from the swaying summit of tall tree, spreading its wings for a flying leap, one of these squirrels glides smoothly and swiftly on an inclined air plane for thirty, forty, even fifty yards; when a movement of the rudder like tail guides the body upward for an instant, with l half a somersault, and the creature settles as light as a feather upon bough or trunk of the tree for which 1t set sail.
 Tn the forests of Asia I found the pteromi, another species of flying squirrel. By the aid of the membrane which is spread between its fore and i hind feet it can jump from one branch | to another without the slightest difi- culty, it's movements in the course of { flight being regulated by it's cylindric | tail, the same as a ships evolutions are controlled by its rudder. The animal ! is exceedingly quick in it's movements. 1 and like the rest of the flying squirrels, nocturnal in it's habits.
 ''The scale tailed squirrels as they are commonly called, can aptly be described as flying squirrels with climbing irons the under side of the tail being furnish ed for some distance from the root with a series of large, horny scales, which, when pressed against the trunk of a tree, serve the same purpose as climbing irons.
 "The paarachute is similar to that of the true flying squirrel but it attached to the fore limbs at the elbow instead of the wrist, and is therefore less ex- tensive The animal average about fourteen inches in length is of a bright reddish color, and is found only in Africa.
 q found a very interesting little fly ing animal in Siberia, where it is caled a polatouche This animal looks con- siderably like the flying squirrels and similar habits. It is not more than eight or ten inches long, lives in pine or birch forests, and can clear from twenty to twenty-five yards at a bound.
 "On the ground it's movements are slow and awkward, owing to the loose folds of skin which impede it but among the trees it is wonderfully quick in flying from branch to brahch, It is an exceedingly scarce animal, and I had a long search before securing a speci- men.
 "The belide or flying phalanger, which is found only in Australia, is remark able, not only for the large size of It's parachutes, but also for the abdominal uouch of the female in which, like the opossum and kangaroo, she carries her young. This little creature also uses its tail as 8 sort of rudder in it's flight