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the alternating kind; that is, the individual can employ | the English Constitution; The Antient History of the either eye singly, and bring it into the central axis, but then Hebrews Vindicated;' two essays, 1, A Defence of the its fellow becomes everted. It is a more rare affection than Antient Greek Chronology;' 2, An Enquiry into the Origin An Essay on the Balance of Civil the former one, and the deformity arising from it is seldom of the Greek Language;' an edition of Plutarch's treatise so obvious. Whether we regard strabismus as affecting one On Isis and Osiris;' eye or both, it is certain that the vision of the one most dis- Power in England;' Indifference for Religion inexcusable;' torted is nearly always imperfect, and usually in a direct and Remarks on Mr. Cart's Specimen of his General Now we know that if History of England.' There is also a Catechism by him, ratio with the degree of distortion. impressions on the two retina are dissimilar in force, the and a collection of sermons preached by him on public ocmind disregards the weaker, and takes cognizance only of the casions. More may be read respecting him in Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century,' vol. ii., stronger; so that a person who squints badly generally sees objects with the sound eye only. If the sight of both eyes p. 348. is equal or nearly so, double vision results whenever both are employed together, because the images of objects do not fall on corresponding portions of the two retina [SIGHT]; and as the defect of sight is generally in a direct ratio with the degree of distortion, double vision is most frequently experienced in slight cases of squint.

Causes. The inequality of power in the two eyes has been regarded by many as a cause of strabismus; the defective eye, it is said, instead of being fixed on the object before it, is left to wander from the true axis of vision.' When however we consider how numerous are the examples of unequal vision with the two eyes, yet unattended with squint, and the great and immediate improvement of sight which generally results from the operation for the removal of the defect, we may fairly question the influence of this cause in the production of strabismus. Among the remote causes which unquestionably contribute to this effect, may be enumerated convulsions, teething, the irritation arising from worms, ophthalmia, imitation, a habit of misdirecting the eyes, as by frequently looking at a mole on the nose, &c. The proximate cause resides in some affection of the muscles or nerves of the eyeball; either the balance of power between the former is lost, or the sympathy which exists naturally between the motor-oculi nerves of the two eyes is impaired.

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SQUIRRELS, SCIURIDÆ, a family of RODENTIA. Mr. Swainson makes this family the fourth great division of the rodent animals, and he remarks that the strong resemblance which several of the American marmots (Spermophilus) have to squirrels, leads him to believe that the two groups naturally follow one another; a supposition which is, he observes, considerably strengthened by the subgenus Tamias, Ill., putting on as it were an intermediate form. With regard to these ground-squirrels, as he says they may be justly called, he adverts to the description of the habits and manners of two species (Tamias Lysteri and Tamias quadrivittatus) by Dr. Richardson, which two species live almost like marmots, and both construct burrows beneath the surface of the ground. Mr. Swainson remarks that some of the squirrels have short and rounded ears, but that the generality of the species have them tufted with a pencil Mr. Swainson does of hairs, as a perfect example of which he refers to our common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). not omit to notice the grace and liveliness that reign in the movements of these sprightly little animals. Their agility upon all occasions of motion,' says he, is very great; but when exerted to the utmost, it is truly surprising: so quick indeed do they bound from branch to branch, and so great is the rapidity with which they suddenly turn and wind about, that the eye, partly confused by the intervention of other objects, is frequently unable to follow their movements. The true squirrels, unlike those of the subgenus Tamias, live almost entirely in trees, and build their nests on a fork of the branches.'

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Treatment. This must depend upon whether the affection is of a temporary or permanent nature; in the former case it will be found to arise from some local irritation, and can be removed by suitable therapeutic remedies; in the Mr. Swainson then adverts to the flying squirrels (Pterothe latter, an operation will generally be required. Among the different other plans of treatment which occasionally mys), which are equally arboreal in their habits. These,' have proved successful, we may enumerate binding up the he writes, as their name implies, have an expansive skin, sound eye; the employment of spectacles having glasses of forming a sort of sail, between the fore and the hind feet, diferent power; blinders projecting in front of the temples, examples of which structure we also see among the marThere are six species of Plerowith a view of attracting the eyes outwards; electricity, &c. supial or pouched quadrupeds of New Holland.' [MARSUThe operation for the cure of strabismus is said to have PIALIA, vol. xiv., p. 460.] suggested itself first to Dr. Stromeyer, from witnessing the mys found in India, three in America, and one, common in Dr. Siberia, is likewise an inhabitant of Lapland. Of the habits success of tenotomy in contractions of the limbs. Dieffenbach of Berlin however was the first who had the bold- belonging to the Oriental species, we know but little or ness to carry it into practice on the living subject. The nothing; but those of the Siberian Pteromys have been operation consists in dividing the muscle by which the dis- recorded by Pallas. It feeds principally on the young shoots of the pine-tree; and these, after being digested, preserve tortion is produced, and thus allowing its antagonist to Although so much of their resinous quality, that the dung will burn draw the eye again into the centre of the orbit. with a bright flame and a strong scent of resin. most cases of strabismus may be either completely cured or very much bettered by this operation, it is proper to remark ordinary squirrels, this species lives entirely in trees, sits that in some, neither this nor any other plan of treatment erect, feeds itself with the fore-paws, and takes prodigious is of any avail. Provided however that the subjects to be leaps, assisted greatly by the expansive membrane between the legs, which acts as a support, to break the force of its operated on are judiciously selected, and the surgeon qualified for the task, there is no operation within the whole descent. It appears however that the flying-squirrels are range of surgery which is more simple, more free from nocturnal animals, in which respect they differ essentially danger, or more satisfactory in its results, than the one from the true squirrels, which are diurnal. Dr. Richardson, speaking of an American species, expressly states this:in question. The Pleromys Alpinus of the Rocky Mountains lives in Pallas, alluding to the Siberian dense pine-forests, and seldom ventures from its retreat, except in the night.' (Classification of species, asserts the same; and adds, that its eyes are provided with a nictitating membrane.' Quadrupeds.)

Readers who wish for more full information on the subject of strabismus are referred to the works of Mr. Lucas, Mr. Duffin, and Mr. Mackenzie; also to a very interesting practical paper on the same subject by Mr. Elliot, published in the 55th volume of the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal.

SQUIRE, SAMUEL, D.D. (born 1714, died 1766), a learned prelate of the English church, and author of various works, was the son of an apothecary at Warminster in Wiltshire. He was educated in St. John's College, Cambridge, and became early in life chaplain to Dr. Wynne, bishop of Bath and Wells, by whom he was made chancellor of Wells and archdeacon of Bath. He was afterwards chaplain and private secretary to the duke of Newcastle. In 1750 he became rector of St. Ann's, Westminster. He had no other preferment, till in 1760 he was made dean of Bristol, and, in 1761, bishop of St. David's. His life was prosperous, but short: he died at the age of fifty-two. His principal published writings are:- An Enquiry into the Nature of

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This family then of Rodents, with very distinct clavicles, may be naturally and popularly divided into three groups, the True Squirrels, the Ground-Squirrels, aud the FlyingSquirrels.

Family Character.-Molars simple, with tuberculous crowns, five above, four below, on each side; the lower incisors very much compressed. Toes long, armed with sharp claws, four on the anterior and five on the posterior feet; In others the skin of the sides extended anterior thumb very short. Tail long and tufted. Cheekpouches in some. between the anterior and posterior limbs. Geographical Distribution of the Sciuridae.-The geographic range of the Squirrels is very wide both in the Old

and New World. None appear to have been discovered in Australia.

The Sciuridae have been divided into two principal groups :

A. Squirrels with free limbs. Genera.-Tamias, Sciurus, Macroxus, and Anisonyx.

B. Squirrels with their limbs invested in the skin of the sides.

Genera.-Pteromys, Sciuropterus.

Geographical Distribution.-Europe, Asia, India and Indian Islands, Africa, North America, South America, and West Indian Islands.

Macrocus.-Frontal bones very much depressed: nasa bones but little elongated; a deep depression between the cranium and the face. Tail round. No cheek-pouches. Geographical Distribution.-Sumatra, India, Africa, and South America.

The following dentition is given by M. F. Cuvier for pouches. All the feet with five toes; the two internal toes Tamias, Sciurus, Macroxus, and Sciuropterus:

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Anisonyx-Teeth like those of the squirrels. No cheek of the anterior feet very short. Claws very long. Tail distichous. A genus, considered as not certain, established by M. Rafinesque for the reception of animals approximating to the squirrels and the marmots, from which they differ in the number and form of the toes.

Geographical Distribution.-Columbia.

Pteromys.-Posterior part of the nasal bones a little convex; the frontal bones strongly depressed in their midde and rising slightly afterwards; the posterior parts of the head do not begin sensibly to curve downwards before the middle of the parietal bones; cerebral cavity small, only half the length of the head.

Geographical Distribution.-Asia, the Moluccas, the Philippine Islands, and Java.

Sciuropterus.-Differing from Pteromys in having the anterior part of the profile line of the head straight to the middle of the frontal bones, where it takes a curved direction, very much arched, without any intermediate depression. Occiput projecting; frontal bones elongated; and the ca pacity of the cranium comprising three-fifths of the length of the head.

Geographical Distribution.-Northern Asia and North America.

For Mr. Waterhouse's arrangement of the Sciuridæ, see RODENTIA, vol. xx., pp. 61, 62.

EUROPEAN SQUIRRELS.

Examples,-Tamias striatus.-Description.-Upper part of the body yellow-brown, with five brown longitudinal stripes and two white ones on the upper parts; white beneath; lumbar region rusty, as well as the tail, which is blackish above, and bordered with black below. Length rather more than nine inches, including the tail, which measures about three inches.

Habits, &c.-Pallas states that this ground-squirrel burrows in woody districts, in small hillocks, or near the roots of trees; but never makes its nest in the trunks or branches of trees, like the common squirrels, although, when frightened from its hole, it climbs with ease, speedily making its way from branch to branch. The nest is reached by a winding tunnel, and there are generally two or three lateral chambers, for the stowage of winter food. It is allied in its habits to the hamster and citillus (Spermophilus), is connected with the latter by the convexity of its nose, and has cheek pouches, but differs altogether in its manners from the tree-squirrels. The head is longer than that of the common squirrel; the ears are rounded and without tufts; the roundish hairy tail is seldom turned up; the body is slender, the extremities are shorter than those of the common squirrel, and the fur is very short, and not so fine. Its habits are diurnal, it does not become torpid in winter, and in these respects it approaches the true squirrels. It is not easily tained.

Dr. Richardson remarks that the Sciurus (Tamias) Lys teri of Ray, the Hackee of the United States, Ohihoin of the Hurons, Striped Dormouse of Pennant, is considered by the author of the above description, and subsequent writers, to be the same with the Asiatic Sciurus striatus; but the Doctor adds that the descriptions given of the latter do not exactly correspond with American specimens, and that he is not aware that the identity of the species on the two continents has been established by actual comparison. He allows however that the observations of Pallas regarding the manners and form of the Asiatic animal apply exactly to the American one.

The Hackee, Dr. Richardson states, is common on the north shores of lakes Huron and Superior; but he does not believe that it exists in a higher latitude than the 50th parallel. Although very wild, it is, he says, fond of establishing its abode in the immediate vicinity of man, and multiplies greatly in cultivated places. (Fauna BorealiAmericana.)

Sciurus vulgaris.-Description.-Head thick, rounder

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posteriorly, flattened at the sides and on the forehead; nose I supposed; and therefore may be a justification of those prominent; eyes black, prominent, large, and placed rather authors who have gravely mentioned what some have deemed high on the sides of the head; ears straight, large, termi- to be a wild and improbable story. So many people went to see the little squirrels suckled by a cat, that the fosternated by a pencil of long hairs; cutting teeth of the upper jaw broader than those of the lower, which are almost mother became jealous of her charge, and in pain for their pointed, and much flattened at the sides; grinding-teeth safety; and therefore hid them over the ceiling, where one four above and below, with the addition of a rudimentary died. This circumstance shows her affection for these fondone, consisting of a single tubercle, and often deciduous, lings, and that she supposes the squirrels to be her own Thus hens, when they have hatched ducklings, placed immediately before the others in the upper jaw; young. are equally attached to them as if they were their own neck short, but distinct; body thick; back arched; tail long and very bushy, the hairs distichous; hinder legs very chickens.' (White's 'Selborne.') long, the heels touching the ground; fore-feet formed for holding food; fingers long, furnished with prominent cushions, and with long, sharp, curved claws. Colour above reddish-brown, beneath white. (Bell.)

The length of the common squirrel including the tail (which last measures about six inches three lines) is about fourteen inches nine lines. Mr. Bell, after stating that it is liable to considerable variety of colour, becoming grey in the northern regions, and quoting the passage in Lachesis Lapponica, which relates how the inhabitants of the Lapland Alps procure a number of this species in their grey or winter clothing for the sake of their skins, proceeds to remark that even in this country a certain degree of change takes place in the colour of the fur in spring and autumn. Mr. Blyth informed him of this fact. In summer the fur is coarser and more uniformly red, and the pencils of hairs on the ears are lost; in winter a greyish tint appears on the sides, the pencils on the ears are long and well developed, and the fur is softer and fuller. In July, and not till then, the summer change is perfect.

This is the Ecureuil of the French; Scojattolo, Schiarro, and Schiaratto of the Italians; Harda, Hardella, and Esquilo of the Spaniards; Ciuro of the Portuguese; Eichorn and Eichmermlin of the Germans; Inkhoorn of the Dutch; Ikorn and Graskin of the Swedes; Ekorn of the Danes; and Guiwair of the antient British.

Geographical Distribution.-Europe and the north of

Asia.

Habits, &c. This animal,' says Pennant, is remarkably neat, lively, active, and provident; never leaves its food to chance, but secures in some hollow tree a vast magazine of nuts for winter provision. In the summer it feeds on the buds and young shoots, and is particularly fond of It those of the fir and pine, and also of the young cones. makes its nest of the moss or dry leaves, between the fork of two branches, and brings four or five young at a time. Squirrels are in heat early in the spring, when it is very diverting to see the female feigning an escape from the pursuit of two or three males, and to observe the various proofs they give of their agility, which is then exerted in full force.'

Their agility is indeed surprising; the rapidity with which they will run up a tree, or down, head first; the leaps which they will take from bough to bough, and from tree to tree, and the skill with which they dodge out of sight when pursued, baille description. It is a very difficult thing to shoot a squirrel in motion. They have been seen, when hard pressed, and when the distance to the next tree has been beyond their most extravagant leaps, to throw themselves off, spreading abroad their limbs so as to make their body as parachute-like as possible to break their fall; and on reaching the ground without harm, bound along for the few intervening paces, and ascend the tree with a celerity almost too quick for the eye to follow. Their fondness for the shoots of the fir tribe make them ill neighbours to plantations of that race of trees, the leaders of which they bite off. When they have paired, they are generally much attached to their home and to each other, and a pair of squirrels, like a pair of carrion crows, will go on from year to year living and breeding in the same tree if undisturbed.

In captivity the common squirrel is always in motion, but it is painful to see one of the most agile of animals condemned to tread the same unvaried round without advancing an inch. The number of cages made for this favourite mode of incarceration is very great. Sciuropterus Sibiricus.

Before we proceed to describe this species, it may be desirable to give some notion of the organization which characterises the Flying-Squirrels generally.

The group to which this attractive little animal belongs, says Mr. Bennett, in his description of the American Pteromys Volucella, are principally distinguished from the Common Squirrels by what is usually termed their flying membrane. This apparatus consists of a folding of the skin along either side so as to form broad lateral expansions, supported anteriorly and posteriorly by the limbs between which they are extended, and by peculiar bony processes arising from the feet. These expansions are not naked and membranous, like those of the Bats, but are actual continuations of the skin, clothed externally by a dense fur similar to that which invests every other part of the body. Neither do they serve, like the flying membranes of many of the Bats, the purposes of wings; their functions being limited to that of a parachute, giving to the animal a considerable degree of buoyancy, and thus enabling it to take leaps of almost incredible extent, through which it passes with the velocity of an arrow. The name of Flying-Squirrels is consequently founded on an erroneous assumption; but it may nevertheless be admitted as a metaphorical expression of their most distinguishing peculiarity.' (Zoological Gardens.)

Description of Sciuropterus Sibiricus.-Eyes full, the lids edged with black. Membranes extending to the base of the fore-feet, and forming a large wing-like expansion on each side. Tail full and rounded at the extremity. Body, above, of a fine grey colour, resembling the hue on the back of a sea-gull; beneath, pure white. Total length about 94 inches, of which the tail, measured to the end of the hair, is five.

This is the Mus Ponticus vel Scythicus of Gesner; Sciurus Petaurista volans of Klein; Sciurus volans of Linnæus; Sciurus Sibiricus volans of Brisson; Quadrupes volatilis Russia of the Acta Petropolitana; Polatucha and Letaga of the Russians; Polatouche of the French; Konige der Grauwerke (King of the Squirrels) of the Germans; Wieiviorka Lataica of the Poles; and European Flying-Squirrel of English authors.

Locality.-Finland, Lapland, the Russian dominions from Livonia to the river Kolyma or Kowyona in the northeast of Siberia.

Habits. This species haunts the woody mountainous country, feeding on the buds and fruit of the birch-trees and on the cones of the fir tribe. It is a solitary animal, and does not affect the company of others of its own kind, nor does it retire in the winter, at which season it wanders about. Its dwelling is in the hollows of trees, and its nest is generally made of moss from the birch. It raises the tail when at rest, but when it takes its flying leaps, extends that member.

ASIATIC SQUIRrels.

Examples,-Tamias Palmarum.

White mentions a curious instance of the transfer of the maternal affections of a cat, which had lost her kittens, to Mr. Bennett states that he is not satisfied with regard to some young squirrels that were thrown upon her protection. A boy,' says he, has taken three little young squirrels in the genus in which the Palm-Squirrel should be placed. their nest, or drey, as it is called in these parts. These small It seems, he observes, as M. F. Cuvier has remarked, to form There is much creatures he put under the care of a cat which had lately the type of a new one, intermediate between the tree-nesting lost her kittens, and finds that she nurses and suckles them and nut-cracking squirrels on the one hand and the burrowwith the same assiduity and affection as if they were hering and frugivorous Tamias on the other. own offspring. This circumstance corroborates my suspicion, that the mention of exposed and deserted children being nurtured by female beasts of prey who had lost their young, may not be so improbable an incident as many have

justice in these observations; but as this species approaches much nearer to Tamias than Sciurus, we think that the The anterior part of the face is continental naturalists may be followed in arranging it under the former genus.

even more slender than that of a true Tamias, and contrasts | feet, and, on all the toes, sharp, compressed, bent claws: strongly with the comparatively bluff visage of Sciurus. tail covered with long hairs disposed horizontally; colour Description of Tamias Palmarum.-Pennant thus de- of the head, body, and tail a bright bay; in some parts inscribes the species: Squirrel with plain ears; an obscureclining to orange; breast and belly of a yellowish white; pale yellow stripe on the middle of the back, another on length from nose to tail, eighteen inches; tail, fifteen. each side, a third on each side of the belly; the two last at (Pennant.) times very faint; rest of the hair on the sides, back, and head, black and red, very closely mixed; that on the thighs and legs more red; belly pale yellow; hair on the tail does not lie flat, but encircles it, is coarse, and of a dirty yellow barred with black. Authors describe this kind with only three stripes: this had five, so possibly they vary.' Length about 13 inches, of which the tail measures 6.

Vary they certainly do, for Mr. Bennett has figured two marked varieties in his Zoological Gardens. One was perfectly black, and exhibited no traces of the usual stripes. The other variety had red eyes, and appeared to be an albino: it was of a dull reddish white, marked with three very faint stripes of a still lighter hue. They were presented to the Zoological Society in 1828.

This species is the Mustela Africana of Clusius; Sciurus palmarum of Linnæus; and Le Palmiste of Buffon. Locality.-India.

Habits, &c.-The Palm-Squirrels, which derive their name from being often seen on those trees, are common about Indian towns and villages, dwelling about the roofs of houses and old walls. The female lays her young in holes of the latter. They are great destroyers of fruit, but are very familiar, entering houses to pick up the crumbs. Pennant states that Governor Loten informed him that they lived much in the cocoa-trees, and were very fond of the | Sury, or palm-wine, which is procured from the tree; from which it obtained, among the Indians, the name of Suri catsje, or the little cat of the Sury.

Pennant adds that, according to Clusius and Ray, this species does not erect its tail like other squirrels, but has the faculty of expanding it sideways. The two noticed by Mr. Bennett ate sitting upright upon their haunches, and conveyed their food, which was entirely vegetable and consisted of bread chiefly, to their mouths between their forepaws. He says that the tail is occasionally elevated in a vertical position, but seldom brought forward over the

back.

Sciurus maximus, the Malabar Squirrel. Description.-Upper parts and external surface of the limbs bright chocolate brown, which colour terminates abruptly, and is joined by the pale yellowish brown on the under parts, fore-arms, and internal surface of the limbs. Front of the fore-legs, neck, throat, face, and head between the ears, lighter in colour: a broad darker patch on the rest of the upper part of the head extends from the forehead to the middle of the nose. Back and shoulders sometimes | deepening into black. Ears short, covered with long tufted hairs and brush-like; from the longer part of each ear a narrow line of deep brown passes downwards and backwards in an oblique direction. Whiskers scanty, long, and black. Claws incurved and strong, those of the anterior thumbs broad, short, and flattened. Tail distichous, the hairs expanding widely towards the extremity, bright chocolatebrown at the base, black in the middle, and chestnut in the extreme third part. Length about 33 inches, of which the tail measures rather more than one-half.

Locality.-The Malabar Coast.

Habits, &c.-Sonnerat appears to have been the first zoologist who observed this richly coloured species, the largest of the true squirrels. It haunts among palm-trees, and is stated to be very fond of the milky juice of the cocoa-nut, as well as of the solid part of the nut. In captivity it is tame and familiar; but it tries its teeth upon most substances that come within its power, and should be guarded against accordingly.

Sciuropterus Sagitta (Sciurus Sagitta, Linn.; Pteromys Sagitta, Geoff.).

Description.-Squirrel with a small rounded head; cloven upper lip; small blunt ears; two small warts at the outmost corner of each eye, with hairs growing out of them; neck short; four toes on the fore-feet; and instead of a thumb, a slender bone, two inches and a half long, lodged under the lateral membrane, serving to stretch it out; from thence to the hind-legs extends the membrane, which is broad, and a continuation of the skin of the sides and belly; the membrane extends along the fore-legs, and stretches out near the joint in a winged form: five toes on the hind

Locality, Habits, &c.-Inhabits Java and others of the Indian islands. Leaps from tree to tree as if it flew; will catch hold of the boughs with the tail. Differs in size: that described by Linnæus was the size of our squirrel; that killed by Sir Edward Michelbourne in one of the Indian islands was greater than a hare. Nieuhoff describes this species under the name of the Flying Cat, and says the back is black; he has given two very good figures of it; one in his frontispiece, the other in the page he describes it in. (Pennant.)

This seems to be the Sciurus maximus volans, seu Felis volans of Brisson; Le Taguan ou Grand Ecureuil volant of Buffon.

In the descriptions of Pennant, above given, there are two points which deserve consideration: that which describes the animal as catching hold of boughs with its tail, and that which states its difference in size. The first is given on the authority of Sir Edward Michelbourne's voyage, in Purchas's Pilgrims, and should be received with caution. The second would lead to the conclusion that more than one species had been included under the name of the animal now under discussion.

We accordingly find that Dr. Horsfield, in his valuable Zoological Researches in Java, describes two Flying Squir rels (Pieromys genibarbis and Pteromys lepidus), bɔth nocturnal in their habits, nearly epproaching to Sciuropterus Sagitta. He describes the first as living on fruits; the second as found in the closest Javanese forests, where the height of the trees and the luxuriance of the foliage effectually conceal it. Some have thought these two were only one species. In the work last above referred to, Dr. Horsfield has given a General Enumeration of Indian Sciuri well worthy of the attention of the zoologist. He enumerates sixteen species of Sciuri; four of which were first described by himself. These do not include the Flying Squirrels.

AFRICAN SQUIRRELS,

Sciurus Getulus.-Description.-Eyes full and black, with white orbits. Head, body, feet, and tail cinereous inclining to red: lightest on the legs: sides marked lengthwise with two white stripes: belly white: tail bushy, marked regularly with shades of black, one beneath the other: size of the common squirrel. (Pennant.)

This is the Sciurus Getulus of Caius and Linnæus; Barbary or white-striped Squirrel of Pennant; Barbarian Squirrel of Edwards; Le Barbaresque of Buffon.

Locality and Habits.-The north of Africa, especially Barbary, where it lives in trees, preferring those of the Palm tribe.

Sciurus Cepapi.-Description.-Ochrey-yellow above, slightly marbled with blackish-brown; sides of the body and feet ochrey-yellow; upper lip, superciliary stripe, and lower parts of the body white, belly tinged with yellow; tail distichous, ochrey-yellow varied with blackish-brown; ears short, with obtuse apices, the external margin notched near the point; eyes brown. Figure slender. Head small. Legs long. Tail depressed, narrow, slightly distichous, and pointed at its extremity. The tints vary in different speci mens. Length 14 inches 9 lines, the tail being 7 inches long. Female resembling the male in colour and size. (Smith.)

Locality.-South Africa.

Habits, &c.-Dr. Smith, who named this species, and has described and figured it in his Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa, observed it for the first time upon the immediate banks of the Limpopo River, in about 24° 20'S. lat. It was occasionally discovered upon the ground, but more frequently upon trees; and when it happened to be surprised in the former situation, it invariably endea voured to reach the latter, and, if successful, either attempted to conceal itself in the forks of the branches, or in holes, if any existed, in the trunks or other parts. Its flight, when on the ground, was effected with amazing rapidity, and the perpendicular ascent of the tree was accomplished with equal facility. Dr. Smith concludes by stating that it feeds by day, and, according to the natives,

also by night, and that in all the specimens he obtained the | by Mr. Bennett of two unquestionable specimens which stomachs were fully distended with berries, &c

AMERICAN SQUIRRELS.

Tamias quadrivittatus; Four-banded Pouched Squirrel. -Description.-Head long, tapering considerably from the eyes to the end of the nose, which is not, however, remarkably sharp. Mouth situated far back. Whiskers black and rather shorter than the head. Eye small when compared with a true squirrel. Ear erect, semi-ovate, obtuse, and flat, except a slight duplicature at the base of the anterior margin; it is covered on both sides with a coat of short hair. Cheek-pouches extending to the angle of the jaw. Body more slender than that of the squirrels in general. Five blackish lines and four alternating white ones occupy the whole back sides reddish-brown, under parts grey tail long and slender, exhibiting dusky and light-brown colours. Length 9 inches 9 lines; of which the tail measures 4 inches 3 lines.

exist among the numerous individuals' in the collection of the Zoological Society. The value of this description rests on the number of squirrels that are regarded by many zoologists as mere varieties of the species under consideration, which is the most common species in the United States. Locality.-Nearly the whole of the United States of America: most abundant in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.

Habits, &c.-The nest of the Grey Squirrel, which swarms in some of the localities where it is found, is made upon the extremities of branches of trees, and its food consists of buds, tender shoots, nuts, acorns, and grain. In winter the provident animal retires to hollow trunks where its stores have been laid up. The fur is sought after in the market, but the grey skins of the common squirrel are considered of more value. They are exceedingly destructive to the crops, especially of maize, and were proscribed accordreward for every one killed, and that such a number was destroyed in one year that Pennsylvania alone paid in rewards 80007. of its currency.

This is the Four-lined Squirrel of Godman, and Sasingly. Pennant says that three pence per head was the sacka-wappiscoos of the Cree Indians.

6

Locality and Habits.-Dr. Richardson, from whose long and accurate description the above characters are drawn, states that this diminutive Ground-Squirrel is common throughout the woody districts, as far north as Great Slave Lake, if not farther. It is found, he tells us, at the south end of Lake Winipeg, in lat. 500, and, within that range, seems to replace Sciurus Lysteri. He refers to Mr. Say's observation of it on the Rocky Mountains, near the sources of the Arkansas and Platte; and to specimens brought by Mr. Drummond from the sources of the Peace River, which rises on the same ridge. It is,' says Dr. Richardson, an exceedingly active little animal, and very industrious in storing up provision, being generally observed with its pouches full of the seeds of leguminous plants, bents, and grasses. It is most common in dry sandy spots where there is much underwood, and is often seen in the summertime sporting among the branches of willows and low bushes. It is a lively restless animal, troublesome to the hunter, and often provokes him to destroy it by the angry chirruping noise that it makes on his approach, and which is a signal of alarm to the other inhabitants of the forest. During the winter it resides in a burrow, with several openings, made at the root of a tree, and is never seen in the surface of the snow at that season. When the snow disappears, many small collections of hazel-nut shells, from which the kernel has been extracted by a minute hole gnawed in the side, are to be seen on the ground near its holes. Mr. Say states its nest to be composed of an extraordinary quantity of the burrs of Xanthium, portions of the upright cactus, small branches of pine-trees, and other vegetable productions, sufficient in some instances to fill a cart. On the banks of the Saskatchewan the mouths of their burrows are not so protected. The four-handed squirrel is, in common with the Hackee, named Le Suisse by the French Canadians, an appellation which, according to Father Theodat, arose from their skins being rayed with black, white, red, and grey, like the breeches of the Switzers who form the pope's guard. The same author informs us that they bite bitterly when taken. The tails of this kind of squirrel, particularly of the males, are often mutilated in their contests with each other, and they are very liable to be broken off in the attempt to catch them, so that it is very rare to attain a specimen with a perfect tail.' (Fauna Boreali-Americana.)

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Sciurus cinereus; The Grey Squirrel. Description.-Ashy grey on the upper surface and sides, each hair being marked by alternate rings of black and grey. Inner sides of the limbs and under surface of the body pure white. Tail nearly equal in length to the body, and when thoroughly developed, completely overshadowing it. Both surfaces of the tail similar in colour to the back and sides, the under surface being somewhat lighter; the long diverging hairs ringed in such a manner as to give the appearance of an external border of white, enclosing a broad band of greyish black. No decided tinge of brown on the muzzle, nor on the sides of the body, but a slight intermixture of that colour is visible on the muzzle on close examination. Ears covered with very short close-set hairs, without any appearance of the bushy pencils which surmount those of the common squirrel. Size one-third larger than the last-named species.

Such in substance is the very accurate description given P. C., No. 1409.

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So much confusion,' says Dr. Richardson, in his description of the black squirrel (Sciurus niger, Linn.), 'has crept into the accounts of the American squirrels, that great uncertainty respecting the species alluded to by authors must exist until some resident naturalist favour the world with a good monograph of the squirrels of that country. The black squirrels have been considered by some to be a variety of the Sciurus cinereus, or of the Sciurus vulpinus, and by others have been referred to Sciurus capistratus. M. Desmarest describes a small black squirrel, which is distinguished from the large black variety of the masked squirrel by the softness of its fur. Pennant's black squirrel is evidently the Sciurus capistratus of later writers.'

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The squirrel,' continues Dr. Richardson, which is the subject of this article, is larger than the Ecuruil gris de la Caroline of M. F. Cuvier (lesser grey squirrel; Pennant, Hist. Quad.), and rather smaller than the "large grey squirrel" of Catesby. It is not an uncommon inhabitant of the northern shores of lakes Huron and Superior, where the greater and smailer grey squirrels are never seen, and is by far the largest squirrel existing on the eastern sides of the Rocky Mountains to the northward of the Great Lakes. It does not extend farther north than the 50th parallel of latitude, but its range to the southward cannot be determined until the species of American squirrels are better known. It is probable that it is not rare in the United States. There are at present (1829) two pairs of American grey squirrels in the menagerie of the Zoological Society, which differ from each other in size, and in the smaller kind (lesser grey squirrels) having a tawny-coloured belly. Both these kinds have, as was pointed out to me by Mr. Vigors, a peculiar wideness in the posterior part of the body, and a fulness of the skin of the flanks, being an approach to the form of a Pteromys. In the Sciurus Hudsonius (the Chickaree) the hind quarters are as slender and distinct from the flanks as in common European squirrels; and there does not appear to have been any peculiar extension of the skin of the flanks in the specimen of a black squirrel procured for me at Penetanguishene by Mr. Todd, surgeon to the naval depôt there.' The total length of this specimen was 26 inches, of which the tail, including the fur, measured 13. Dr. Richardson adds, that there is a specimen of rather larger dimensions procured at Fort William, on Lake Superior, and presented to the Zoological Society by Captain Bayfield. Dr. Richardson describes it as having a few white hairs scattered among the fur of the body, and rather more in the tail, and he adds, that Lewis and Clark mention their having met with grey squirrels on the Columbia, observing, that, from our ignorance of the species to which they belong, he could not admit them into his work (Fauna Boreali-Americana).

The well known industry of Dr. Richardson makes it important that these observations should be widely diffused, in the hope that some zoologist competent to the task may be induced to undertake it. He will have a tangled skein to unravel; but a well executed monograph would be highly valued by all who are interested in the subject.

A friend informs us from experience that the grey squirrel and black squirrel make excellent pies; the flesh tasted like that of the rabbit, but it was much more juicy. VOL. XXII.-3 F

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