238 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

as it descends obliquely through the air from the tree to
the ground, the tail operating as a rudder. One species
of the flying squirrel is found in Europe and several in
India. ;
The Squirrel Mr. Head gives a graphic description of his expe-
at Home. yjiences with a squirrel in the Canadian woods.
He says:—“I was waiting the approach of a large flock of
- wild fowl, but a littie villain of a squirrel on the bough ofa
, tree close to me, seemed to have determined that even now
I should not rest in quiet, for he sputtered and chattered
with so much vehemence, that he attracted the attention of
my dog, whom I could scarcely control. The vagrant inattention
of my dog was truly mortifying; he kept his eyes fixed upon
the squirrel, now so noisy as to be quite intolerable. With
my hand, I made a motion to threaten him, but the little
beast actually set up his back, and defied me, becoming even
more passionate and noisy than before, till all of a sudden,
as if absolutely on purpose to alarm the game, down he let
himself drop, plump at once within a couple of yards of
Rover’s nose. This was too much for any four-footed animal
‘o bear, so he gave a bounce and sprang at the impertinent
squirrel, who, in one second, was safe out of his reach, cock-
ing his tail, and showing his teeth on the identical bough
where he had sat before. Away flew all the wild fowl, and
my sport was completely marred. My gun went involuntarily
to my shoulder to shoot the squirrel. At the same moment,
I felt I was about to commit an act of sheer revenge, on a
little courageous animal which deserved a better fate. As if
aware of my hesitation, he nodded his head with rage, and
stamped his fore paws on the tree: while in his chirruping,
there was an intonation of sound, which seemed addressed
to an enemy for whom he had an utter contempt. What
business, I could fancy he said, had I there, trespassing on
his domain, and frightening his wife and little family, for
whom he was ready to lay down his life? There he would