Evening star., 1944-10-28
This and That
By Charles E. Truce,Deu.
CHEVY CHASE. Md

Dear Sir:
My office, in one of our Governments
temporary buildings, is blessed by the
iace tnat 1t faces some Is fine einkpo
trees and, having always been more
or less interested in squirrels. 1 have
neen hoping that some of these lyelv
niue fellows would come around and
brighten the surroundings.
few weeks ago I was delighted
10 suodenly see squirrel in the ginkeo
Tree directly outside my window and
even more pleased to notice that she
was carrying leafy twig to a spot under
a ouncn OF dead leaves, high up In a
crotch OF the tree.
fortunately, I was all prepared with
nice supply of peanuts in nv desk.
ana since that day, Ginka (nice name
Wnat?) and have become the best of
friends. Not only that, but two other
squirrels are now attending the daily
distribution of nuts and the three of
them q suspect that one of them is
Glnko the husband) have buried dozens
Oh nuts around the many trees, in
ao1ltlon to those consumed instanter
FROM your evidently vast store of
knowledge, I would like to know the
answers to the following questions:
l. 10 squirrels customarily return
TO old nests? This nest has been in
its present place untenanted for the
past 18 months, to my knowledge,
z How long is squirrels period of
CESSATION?
g. What other foods can get Ginka
and Ginko besides nuts?
~ Do you think they always recover
all the nuts they bury?
1 want to add the remark that seems
TO appear, in various forms, In all yo,Ir
correspondents letters, that 1 am a
regular reader of your most enjoyable
and educational column.
Sincerely, T. S. VAN N"
The squirrel is a wise animal, and
often makes use of an old nest first
cleaning 1t out, and then reinforcing
1t with branches of leaves, and lining
1t with new leaves
Ihls Is sometimes called the winter
nest, the natural living quarters of
most squirrels being in hollow trees.
Since men have taken to caring for
trees, however, these natural retreats
are not so easily come by, so our gray
squirrels have had to take more and
more to the large nests in trees.
In the forests squirrel family will
OFTEN have both, a nest inside the hoI-
low trunk and one up aloft, so that If
an enemy threatens one place they can
run to the other.
The CESSATION time is about 4 weeks,
out the young squirrels do not appear
out OF the nest for several weeks, being
born blind and practically hairless.
Desirable foods for squirrels are sun
flower, cantaloupe and watermelon
seeds, raisins and bread. We imagine
they would love zweiback, or twice.
toasted bread.
novelty for them is small piece
OF cardboard folded like a book, with
the inside leaves lightly coated with
peanut butter To watch them read"
one Of these books is very amusing.
but care should be taken to give them
only small amount of peanut butter.
as 1t Is very concentrated.
Squirrels never recover all the seeds
nuts and grains they bury. What one
Will not find, however, another will.
Much OF the natural tree planting
Is done by the squirrels Out our way
walnut trees commonly come up all
over the place as the result of nuts
being hidden by the squirrels and
never found.
1t is believed that they locate their
food treasures by scent alone, but
perhaps they often see as well as the
next one just where the ground Is
disturbed bit. The gray squirrel does
not store up food in hollow trees, as
the red form does, and depends for
winter food on finding nuts and vari-
Gus seeds in gardens as we'll as on the
food he has buried In the ground. When
he needs food the most, in snowy, icy
weather. the buried treasures are not
available, ana he ID often hard put to
get enough to eat