Like dogs in a wheel, birds in a cage, or squirrels in a chain, ambitious men still climb and climb, with great labour and incessant anxiety, but never reach the top.
Live fast, die young, and leave a flat patch of fur on the highway! -- The Squirrels' Motto (The "Hell's Angels of Nature")
THE sun was up so high when I waked that I judged it was after eight o'clock. I laid there in the grass and the cool shade thinking about things, and feeling rested and ruther comfortable and satisfied. I could see the sun out at one or two holes, but mostly it was big trees all about, and gloomy in there amongst them. There was freckled places on the ground where the light sifted down through the leaves, and the freckled places swapped about a little, showing there was a little breeze up there. A couple of squirrels set on a limb and jabbered at me very friendly.
Filbert nuts required for keeping must be gathered only when quite ripe; they may then be preserved in dry sand, or, after drying, by packing with a sprinkling of salt in sound casks or new flower-pots. Their different forms include the Cosford, which are thin-shelled and oblong; the Downton, or large square nut, having a lancinated husk; the white or Wrotham Park filbert; and the red hazel or filbert, the kernel of which has a red pellicle. The last two, on account of their elongated husk, have been distinguished as a species, under the name _Corylus tubulosa_. Like these, apparently, were the nuts of Abella, or Avella, in the Campania (cf. Fr. _aveline_, filbert), said by Pliny to have been originally designated "Pontic," from their introduction into Asia and Greece from Pontus (see _Nat. Hist._ xv. 24, xxiii. 78). Hazel-nuts, under the name of Barcelona or Spanish nuts, are largely exported from France and Portugal, and especially Tarragona and other places in Spain. They afford 60% of a colourless or pale-yellow, sweet-tasting, non-drying oil, which has a specific gravity of 0.92 nearly, becomes solid at -19° C. (Cloez), and consists approximately of carbon 77, and hydrogen and oxygen each 11.5%. Hazel nuts formed part of the food of the ancient lake-dwellers of Switzerland and other countries of Europe (see Keller, _Lake Dwellings_, trans. Lee, 2nd ed., 1878). By the Romans they were sometimes eaten roasted. Kaltenbach (_Pflanzenfeinde_, pp. 633-638, 1874) enumerates ninety-eight insects which attack the hazel. Among these the beetle _Balaninus nucum_, the nut-weevil, seen on hazel and oak stems from the end of May till July, is highly destructive to the nuts. The female lays an egg in the unripe nut, on the kernel of which the larva subsists till September, when it bores its way through the shell, and enters the earth, to undergo transformation into a chrysalis in the ensuing spring. The leaves of the hazel are frequently found mined on the upper and under side respectively by the larvae of the moths _Lithocolletis coryli_ and _L. Nicelii_. Squirrels and dormice are very destructive to the nut crop, as they not only take for present consumption but for a store for future supply. Parasitic on the roots of the hazel is found the curious leafless _Lathraea Squamaria_ or toothwort. Entry: HAZEL
MARMOSET, a name derived from Fr. _marmouset_ (meaning "of a gross figure"), and used to designate the small tropical American monkeys classed by naturalists in the family _Hapalidae_ (or _Chrysothricidae_). Marmosets are not larger than squirrels, and present great variation in colour; all have long tails, and many have the ears tufted. They differ from the other American monkeys in having one pair less of molar teeth in each jaw. The common marmoset, _Hapale_ (or _Chrysothrix_) _jacchus_, is locally known as the _oustiti_, while the name piriché is applied to another species (see PRIMATES). Entry: MARMOSET
In Africa the name of flying-squirrel is applied to the members of a very different family of rodents, the _Anomaluridae_, which are provided with a parachute. Since, however, this parachute is absent in some members of the family, the most distinctive character is the presence of a double row of spiny scales on the under surface of the tail, which apparently aid in climbing. The flying species are also distinguished from ordinary flying-squirrels by the circumstance that the additional bone serving for the support of the fore part of the flying-membrane rises from the elbow-joint instead of from the wrist. The family is represented by two flying genera, _Anomalurus_ and _Idiurus_; the latter containing only one very minute species (shown in the cut) characterized by its small ears and elongated tail. Most of the species are West African. In habits these rodents appear to be very similar to the true flying-squirrels. The species without a parachute constitutes the genus _Zenkerella_, and looks very like an ordinary squirrel (see RODENTIA). Entry: FLYING
_Flora and Fauna._--Massachusetts lies entirely in the humid area of the Transition life-zone, with the exception of the extreme north-western corner of the state, which lies in the Boreal zone. Thus the original native trees and plants were those common to New England and northern New York. The presence of a dense population has driven out some, and brought in others, including some noxious weeds. The larger wild animals have disappeared, excepting an occasional black bear or deer. Of the smaller fur-bearing animals, the beaver was long ago exterminated, the otter is seen very rarely, and the mink only in the most isolated districts; but foxes, skunks, weasels, musk-rats, rabbits, and grey and red squirrels are not uncommon. Copperhead snakes and rattlesnakes arc occasionally seen, and there are several species of harmless serpents. Of game birds the most characteristic is the partridge (ruffed grouse), exclusively a woodland bird; the Wilson's snipe and the woodcock are not uncommon in favourable localities, and several species of ducks are found especially in the bays and marshes near the coast during the seasons of migration. A stray eagle is sometimes seen. Very interesting to ornithologists are the few heath hens, the eastern representative of the prairie hen (pinnated grouse), which are found on the island of Martha's Vineyard, and are the sole survivors in the eastern states of one of the finest of American game birds, now practically exterminated even on the western plains. There are many insectivorous birds; among the song birds are the hermit thrush, the wood thrush, the Wilson's thrush, the brown thrasher, the bobolink, the catbird, the oven bird, the house wren, the song sparrow, the fox sparrow, the vesper sparrow, the white-throated sparrow (Peabody bird), the gold-finch and the robin. Brook trout are found, especially in the streams in the western part of the state, and bass, pickerel, perch and smaller fish occur in the rivers and other inland waters. Fish are so abundant on the coast that the cod is sometimes used as an emblem of the state; thus a figure of one hangs in the representatives' chamber at the State House. The artificial propagation and preservation of salmon and other edible fresh-water fish have been carried on successfully under the supervision of a state commission. The commonwealth has expended large sums since 1890 in a vain attempt to exterminate the gipsy moth (_Ocneria_, or more exactly _Porthetria, dispar_), accidentally allowed to escape in 1869 by a French naturalist. Entry: MASSACHUSETTS
DORMOUSE (a word usually taken to be connected with Lat. _dormire_, to sleep, with "mouse" added, cf. Germ. _Schlafratte_; it is not a corruption of Fr. _dormeuse_; Skeat suggests a connexion with Icel. _dár_, benumbed, cf. Eng. "doze"), the name of a small British rodent mammal having the general appearance of a squirrel. This rodent, _Muscardinus avellanarius_, is the sole representative of its genus, but belongs to a family--the _Gliridae_, or _Myoxidae_--containing a small number of Old World species. All the dormice are small rodents (although many of them are double the size of the British species), of arboreal habits, and for the most part of squirrel-like appearance; some of their most distinctive features being internal. In the more typical members of the group, forming the subfamily _Glirinae_, there are four pairs of cheek-teeth, which are rooted and have transverse enamel-folds. As the characters of the genera are given in the article RODENTIA it will suffice to state that the typical genus _Glis_ is represented by the large European edible dormouse, _G. vulgaris_ (or _G. glis_), a grey species with black markings known in Germany as _Siebenschläfer_; the genus ranges from continental Europe to Japan. The common dormouse _Muscardinus avellanarius_, ranging from England to Russia and Asia, is of the size of a mouse and mainly chestnut-coloured. The third genus is represented by the continental _lerot_, or garden-dormouse, _Eliomys guercinus_, which is a large parti-coloured species, with several local forms--either species or races. Lastly, _Graphiurus_, of which the species are also large, is solely African. In their arboreal life, and the habit of sitting up on their hind-legs with their food grasped in the fore-paws, dormice are like squirrels, from which they differ in being completely nocturnal. They live either among bushes or in trees, and make a neat nest for the reception of their young, which are born blind. The species inhabiting cold climates construct a winter nest in which they hibernate, waking up at times to feed on an accumulated store of nuts and other food. Before retiring they become very fat, and at such times the edible dormouse is a favourite article of diet on the Continent. At the beginning of the cold season the common dormouse retires to its nest, and curling itself up in a ball, becomes dormant. A warmer day than usual restores it to temporary activity, and then it supplies itself with food from its autumn hoard, again becoming torpid till roused by the advent of spring. The young are generally four in number, and are produced twice a year. They are born blind, but in a marvellously short period are able to cater for themselves; and their hibernation begins later in the season than with the adults. The fur of the dormouse is tawny above and paler beneath, with a white patch on the throat. A second subfamily is represented by the Indian _Platacanthomys_ and the Chinese _Typhlomys_, in which there are only three pairs of cheek-teeth; thus connecting the more typical members of the family with the _Muridae_. (R. L.*) Entry: DORMOUSE
In Weissenfels, near Leipzig, the dressing of Russian grey squirrel and the making it into linings is a gigantic industry, and is the principal support of the place. After the dressing process the backs of the squirrels are made up separately from the under and thinner white and grey parts, the first being known as squirrel-back and the other as squirrel-lock linings. A few linings are made from entire skins and others are made from the quite white pieces, which in some instances are spotted with the black ear tips of the animals to resemble ermine. The smaller and uneven pieces of heads and legs are made up into linings, so there is absolutely no waste. Similar work is done in Russia on almost as extensive a scale, but neither the dressing nor the work is so good as the German. Entry: A
The indigenous fauna include the bear, now very rare but still found in the Alps and Pyrenees, the wolf, harbouring chiefly in the Cévennes and Vosges, but in continually decreasing areas; the fox, marten, badger, weasel, otter, the beaver in the extreme south of the Rhône valley, and in the Alps the marmot; the red deer and roe deer are preserved in many of the forests, and the wild boar is found in several districts; the chamois and wild goat survive in the Pyrenees and Alps. Hares, rabbits and squirrels are common. Among birds of prey may be mentioned the eagle and various species of hawk, and among game-birds the partridge and pheasant. The reptiles include the ringed-snake, slow-worm, viper and lizard. (R. Tr.) Entry: FRANCE
The Formosan fauna has been but partially ascertained; but at least three kinds of deer, wild boars, bears, goats, monkeys (probably _Macacus speciosus_), squirrels, and flying squirrels are fairly common, and panthers and wild cats are not unfrequent. A poisonous but beautiful green snake is often mentioned by travellers. Pheasants, ducks, geese and snipe are abundant, and Dr C. Collingwood in his _Naturalist's Rambles in the China Seas_ mentions _Ardea prasinosceles_ and other species of herons, several species of fly-catchers, kingfishers, shrikes and larks, the black drongo, the _Cotyle sinensis_ and the _Prinia sonitans_. Dogs are kept by the savages for hunting. The horse is hardly known, and his place is taken by the ox, which is regularly bridled and saddled and ridden with all dignity. The rivers and neighbouring seas seem to be well stocked with fish, and especial mention must be made of the turtles, flying-fish, and brilliant coral-fish which swarm in the waters warmed by the _Kurosiwo_ current, the gulf-stream of the Pacific. Shell-fish form an important article of diet to both the Chinese and the aborigines along the coast--a species of _Cyrena_, a species of _Tapes_, _Cytheraea petechiana_ and _Modiola teres_ being most abundant. Entry: FORMOSA
The species appear to be similar in their habits. They live in woods and rocky places, and spend most of their time in trees, although descending to the ground in quest of prey. They climb with great facility, and are agile and graceful in their movements. Some are said occasionally to resort to berries and other fruit for food, but as a rule they are carnivorous, feeding chiefly on birds and their eggs, small mammals, as squirrels, hares, rabbits and moles, but chiefly mice of various kinds, and occasionally snakes, lizards and frogs. In proportion to their size they are among the most bloodthirsty of animals, though less so than the weasels. The female makes her nest of moss, dried leaves and grass in the hollow of a tree, but sometimes in a hole among rocks or ruined buildings, and produces several young at a birth, usually from four to six. Though wild and untameable to a great degree if captured when fully grown, if taken young they are docile, and have frequently been made pets, not having the strong unpleasant odour of the smaller _Mustelidae_. The pine-marten appears to have been partially domesticated by the Greeks and Romans, and used to keep houses clear from rats and mice. In the same way, according to Brian Hodgson, the yellow-bellied weasel (_Putorius kathia_) "is exceedingly prized by the Nepalese for its service in ridding houses of rats. It is easily tamed; and such is the dread of it common to all murine animals that not one will approach a house where it is domiciled." It is, however, to the great value attached to the pelts of these animals that their importance to man is chiefly due. Though all yield fur of serviceable quality, the commercial value varies immensely, not only according to the species from which it is obtained, but according to individual variation, depending upon age, sex, season, and other circumstances. The skins from northern regions are more full and of a finer colour and gloss than those from more temperate climates, as are those of animals killed in winter compared to the same individuals in summer. Fashion has, moreover, set fictitious values upon slight shades of colour. Enormous numbers of animals are caught, chiefly in traps, to supply the demand of the fur trade, Siberia and North America being the principal localities from which they are obtained. Entry: MARTEN
The Rodentia have a wider geographical range than any other order of terrestrial mammals, being, as already mentioned, represented by numerous members of the mouse-tribe (_Muridae_) even in Australasia. With the remarkable exception of Madagascar, where it is represented by the _Nesomyidae_, that family has thus a cosmopolitan distribution. Very noteworthy is the fact that, with the exception of Madagascar (and of course Australia) the squirrel family (_Sciuridae_) is also found in all parts of the world. Precisely the same may be said of the hares, which, however, become scarce in South America. On the other hand, the scaly-tailed squirrels (_Anomaluridae_), the jumping-hares (_Pedetidae_), and the strand-moles (_Bathyergidae_) are exclusively African; while the sewellels (_Haplodontidae_) and the pocket-gophers (_Geomyidae_) are as characteristically North American, although a few members of the latter have reached Central America. The beavers (_Castoridae_) are restricted to the northern hemisphere, whereas the dormice (_Gliridae_) and the mole-rats (_Spalacidae_) are exclusively Old World forms, the latter only entering the north of Africa, in which continent the former are largely developed. The jerboa group (_Dipodidae_, or _Jaculidae_) is also mainly an Old World type, although its aberrant representatives the jumping-mice (_Zapus_) have effected an entrance into Arctic North America. Porcupines enjoy a very wide range, being represented throughout the warmer parts of the Old World, with the exception of Madagascar (and of course Australasia), by the _Hystricidae_, and in the New World by the _Erethizontidae_. Of the remaining families of the Simplicidentata, all are southern, the cavies (_Caviidae_), chinchillas (_Chinchillidae_), and degus (_Octodontidae_) being Central and South American, while the _Capromyidae_ are common to southern America and Africa, and the _Ctenodactylidae_ are exclusively African. The near alliance of all these southern families, and the absence of so many Old World families from Madagascar form two of the most striking features in the distribution of the order. Lastly, among the Duplicidentata, the picas (_Ochotonidae_ or _Lagomyidae_) form a group confined to the colder or mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere. Entry: A
_Fauna and Flora._--In primitive times deer, ducks, turkeys, fish and oysters were especially numerous, and wolves, squirrels and crows were a source of annoyance to the early settlers. Deer, black bears and wild cats (lynx) are still found in some uncultivated sections. Much more numerous are squirrels, rabbits, "groundhogs" (woodchucks), opossums, skunks, weasels and minks. Many species of ducks are also still found; and the reed-bird (bobolink), "partridge" (elsewhere called quail or "Bob White"), ruffed grouse (elsewhere called partridge), woodcock, snipe, plover and Carolina rail still abound. The waters of the Chesapeake Bay are especially rich in oysters and crabs, and there, also, shad, alewives, "striped" (commonly called "rock") bass, menhaden, white perch and weak-fish ("sea-trout") occur in large numbers. Among the more common trees are several species of oak, pine, hickory, gums and maple, and the chestnut, the poplar, the beech, the cypress and the red cedar; the merchantable pine has been cut, but the chestnut and other hard woods of West Maryland are still a product of considerable value. Among wild fruit-trees are the persimmon and Chickasaw plum; grape-vines and a large variety of berry-bushes grow wild and in abundance. Entry: MARYLAND
The favourite haunts of the wild cat are mountain forests where masses or rocks or cliffs are interspersed with trees, the crevices in these rocks or the hollow trunks of trees affording sites for the wild cat's lair, where its young are produced and reared. In the Spanish plains, however, the young are often produced in nests built in trees, or among tall bamboos in cane-brakes. "To fight like a wild cat" is proverbial, and wild cats are described as some of the most ferocious and untamable of all animals. How far this untamable character lends support to the view of the origin of our domesticated breeds has not yet been determined. Hares, rabbits, field-mice, water-rats, rats, squirrels, moles, game-birds, pigeons, and small birds, form the chief food of the wild cat. Entry: PLATE
To refer in detail to the numerous forms of rodents inhabiting China is impossible here, and it must suffice to mention that the flying-squirrels (_Pteromys_) are represented by a large and handsome species in Sze-ch'uen, where is also found the largest kind of bamboo-rat (_Rhizomys_), the other species of which are natives of the western Himalaya and the Malay countries. Dwarf hamsters of the genus _Cricetulus_ are natives of the northern provinces. In the extreme south, in Hai-nan, is found a gibbon ape (_Hylobates_), while langur (_Semnopithecus_) and macaque monkeys (_Macacus_) likewise occur in the south, one of the latter also inhabiting Sze-ch'uen. Entry: I
The Insectivora may be divided into two groups, according to the degree of development of the union between the two halves of the pelvis. The first group is characterized by the full development of this union, both pubis and ischium entering into the symphysis. The tympanum remains as a ring within an auditory bulla; the orbit is either surrounded by bone, or separated from the hinder part of the skull by a post-orbital process of the frontal; the upper molars have broad 5-cusped crowns with a W-shaped pattern; and the intestine is generally furnished with a caecum. The first family of this group is the _Tupaiidae_, represented by the tree-shrews, or tupaias, of the Indo-Malay countries, characterized by the complete bony ring round the eye-socket, the freedom of the fibula from the tibia in the hind-limb, and the absence of any marked elongation of the tarsus. The dental formula is _i._ 2/3, _c._ 1/1, _p._ 3/3, _m._ 3/3, total 38. In appearance and habits tree-shrews are extremely like squirrels, although they differ, of course, _in toto_ as regards their dentition. A large number of species are included as the typical genus _Tupaia_, which ranges from north-eastern India to the great Malay Islands. In these animals the tail has a fringe of long hairs on opposite sides throughout its length. In the pen-tailed, tree-shrew (_Ptilocercus lowii_), fig. 1, the only representative of its genus, and a native of Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, the fringes of long hair are confined to the terminal third of the tail. There are also differences in the skulls of the two genera. A third genus, _Urogale_, represented by _U. cylindrura_ of the mountains of Mindanao, in the Philippines, and _U. everetti_, of Borneo, has been established for the round-tailed tupaias, in which the tail is uniformly short-haired, and the second upper incisor and the lower canines are unusually large, the third lower incisor being proportionately small, and also erect, while the second upper incisor resembles a canine. (See TREE-SHREW.) Entry: INSECTIVORA
Amongst the Rodentia, no members of the Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits and picas) are known to hibernate, although some of the species, like the mountain hare (_Lepus timidus_), extend far to the north in the palaearctic region, and the picas (_Ochotona_) live at high altitudes in the Himalayas and Central Asia, where the cold of winter is excessive, and where the snow lies deep for many months. It is probable that the picas live in fissures and burrows beneath the snow, and feed on stores of food accumulated during the summer and autumn. The Hystrico-morpha also are non-hibernators. It is true that the common porcupine (_Hystrix cristata_) of south Europe and north Africa is alleged to hibernate; the statement cannot, however, be accepted without confirmation, because the cold is seldom excessive in the countries it frequents, and specimens exhibited in the Zoological Gardens in London remain active throughout the year, although kept in enclosures without artificial heat of any kind. Even the most northerly representative of this group, the Canadian porcupine (_Erethizon dorsatus_), which inhabits forest-covered tracts in the United States and Canada, may be trapped and shot in the winter. Some members of this group, like capybaras (_Hydrochaerus capybara_) and coypus (_Myocastors coypus_) which live in tropical America, are unaffected by the winter cold of temperate countries, and live in the open all the year round in parks and zoological gardens in England. Several of the genera of Myomorpha contain species inhabiting the northern hemisphere, which habitually hibernate. The three European genera of dormice (_Myoxidae_), namely _Muscardinus_, _Eliomys_ and _Glis_, sleep soundly practically throughout the winter; and examples of the South African genus _Graphiurus_ practise the same habit when imported to Europe. If a warm spell in the winter rouses dormice from their slumbers, they feed upon nuts or other food accumulated during the autumn, but do not as a rule leave the nests constructed for shelter during the winter. According to the weather, the sleep lasts from about five to seven months. In the family _Muridae_, the true mice and rats (_Murinae_) and the voles and lemmings (_Arvicolinae_) seem to remain active through the winter, although some species, like the lemmings, range far to the north in Europe and Asia; but the white-footed mice (_Hesperomys_) of North America, belonging to the _Cricetinae_, spend the winter sleeping in underground burrows, where food is laid up for consumption in the early spring. The Canadian jumping mouse (_Zapus hudsonianus_), one of the Jaculidae, also hibernates, although the sleep is frequently interrupted by milder days. Some of the most northerly species of jerboas (Jaculidae), namely _Alactaga decumana_ of the Kirghiz Steppes and _A. indica_ of Afghanistan, sleep from September or October till April; and the Egyptian species (_Jaculus jaculus_) and the Cape jumping hare (_Pedetes caffer_), one of the Hystrico-morpha, remain in their burrows during the wet season in a state analogous to winter sleep. The sub-order Sciuromorpha also contains many hibernating species. None of the true squirrels, however, appear to sleep throughout the winter. Even the red squirrel (_Sciurus hudsonianus_) of North America retains its activity in spite of the sub-arctic conditions that prevail. The same is true of its European ally _Sc. vulgaris_. The North American grey squirrel (_Sc. cinereus_), although more southerly in its distribution than the red squirrel of that country, hibernates partially. Specimens running wild in the Zoological Gardens in London disappear for a day or two when the cold is exceptionally keen, but for the most part they may be seen abroad throughout the season. On the other hand, ground squirrels like the chipmunks (_Tamias_) and the susliks or gophers (_Spermophilus_) of North America and Central Asia, at all events in the more northern districts of their range, sleep from the late autumn till the spring in their subterranean burrows, where they accumulate food for use in early spring and for spells of warmer weather in the winter which may rouse them from their slumbers. The North American flying squirrel (_Sciuropterus volucella_) and its ally _Pteromys inornatus_ are believed to hibernate in hollow trees. All the true marmots (_Arctomys_), a genus of which the species live at tolerably high altitudes in Central Europe, Asia and North America, appear to spend the winter in uninterrupted slumber buried deep in their burrows. They apparently lay up no store of food, but accumulate a quantity of fat as the summer and autumn advance, and frequently, as in the case of the woodchuck (_A. monax_) of the Adirondacks, retire to winter quarters in the autumn long before the onset of the winter cold. The prairie marmots or prairie dogs (_Cynomys ludovicianus_) of North America, which live in the plains, do not hibernate to the same extent as the true marmots, although they appear to remain in their burrows during the coldest portions of the winter. Beavers (_Castor_), although formerly at all events extending in North America from the tropic of Cancer up to the Arctic circle, do not hibernate. When the ground is deep in snow and the river frozen over, they are still able to feed on aquatic plants beneath the ice. Entry: II