THE SQUIRREL FAMILY.
The Squirrels are pretty little animals, distinguished by their graceful forms and bushy tails. The Common Squirrel lives in tree-tops and feeds upon fruit and nuts. During the fine summer nights the voices of the Squirrels may be heard, as they chase each other in the tops of the trees. They appear to dislike the heat of the sun, and remain during the day in their nests, coming out in the evening to play and to feed. The nest is warm, neat and impervious to rain; it is generally placed in the fork of a tree. They construct it by interlacing twigs with moss, pressing and treading on their work to make it firm and capacious, that their little ones may repose in safety. The only opening to this nest is at the top, just sufficiently wide to allow the Squirrel to pass in and out; above the aperture is a kind of conical roof, which completely shelters it, and allows no rain to enter the nest.
At the commencement of winter the coat of the Squirrel is renewed, the hair being redder than that which falls off. They comb and smooth themselves with their paws and teeth, and are very neat.