Evening star., 1944-06-12
This and That
FALLS CHURCH, VI

Dear Sir:
"our annoyed fellow townsman,
A. v. c., has not named tithe Of the
depredations Of that interesting and
attractive gray squirrel It Is easy to
go all out on ones minus admiration
Of that suburban pest.
This immediate locality Is full Of oak,
hickory, black walnut, cherry and null
berry trees--and Victory gardens. Are
the consummate little pests content
with that abundant supply Of free foods?
Not by long shot!
"It is practically impossible to harvest
any sweet corn in season. It Is all
dragged from the stalks before 1t
natures, gnawed from the ears and the
cobs and husks strewn all over yard and
garden.
Even at this season, they are nipping
the seed leaves from the beans before
the plants are fairly out Of the ground.
This Is not glesswork; they. and not
rabbits, have been seen at the mischief.
TN autumn they are not satisfied to
fill their bellies and winter nests with
acorns and nuts; they must dig the
lawn full of holes and bury the acorns,
then dig them up in the spring as they
begin to sprout.
They also dig out mushrooms or
other fungi they find edible-and, of
course, leave ruined sward and unsightly
holes.
Even In winter it is practically
impossible to feed birds without the
squirrels getting the lions and the
birds share of sunnower and larger
seeds.
I'm short, let's be realistic; the only
difference between the despised rat and
the cute little gray squirrel Is that
between q sneak thief and = holdup
man. Each takes all the swag he can
get, but the latter faces you down with
the bluff: What are you going to do
about it?'
well, adequately to advise neighbor
A. v. c., the only effective thing to do is
to exterminate them both. No peanut
bribe is going to do a nickle's worth of
good. Mother Goose's estimate Of Mr..
Gray Squirrel is as true now it is was
when We learned 1t in our infancy:
THE squirrel is a pretty bird,
He wears bushy tail;
He steals away my fathers corn
And eats 1t on a rail.
"Only now 1t Is the succulent corn of
your Victory garden which you hope to
can for next winter which he hogs
before it Is fit for your family to eat
fresh from the garden.
Sincerely,
ANOTHER CROUCH cw. D. ao"
\ II 4
GEORGIA AVENUE.
Dear Sir:
Your article on the feeding habits of
squirrels in a recent issue Of The Star
reminded me OF two rather interesting
experiences have had with them.
Several years ago my wife and I
noticed female squirrel, seemingly
rather tame, playing in back of our
bungalow. We put nuts, bread and
raisins on the back porch. The squirrel
got so tame that it would eat while we
stood at the open door.
Finally, as Christmas drew near we
had her so tame she would enter the
kitchen, timidly take nut and dart out.
We had spread several nuts and won-
dered If she showed a preference for
certain nuts or II she took the first one
because of her slight timidity in the
house.
I'VE tried putting the nuts in a row,
and found that Mrs. Squirrel came in
the house far enough to get the nuts
SiAC PiSACAACo dt tiAdk dpp6~
tite changed frequently, as she would
pass up nut she had taken last and
get another kind regularly.
I'VE never attempted to make her too
tame, as we were afraid she would
become too friendly, and a cat or dog
might find her an easy meal
During the early spring she did not
show up for quite a while, and we
wondered If she would come back.
After number of weeks we heard a
squirrel outside, and on opening the
door we found her with three youngsters
waiting to be fed. That explains her
absence
"On q number OF occasions down
along the Patuxant River, in Anne
Arundel County, have sat quietly and
watched wild squirrels creep through
the pines, take their pick Of mushrooms,
eat the cover first, and sit like child
with q banana munching on the stalk.
Sincerely, j. H. B."
Both OF these letters prove what We
have always said-that squirrels pay In
interest for what they eat.