SCIURUS, the squirrel, in natural his tory, a genus of Mammalia, of the order (Mires. Generic character; two fore teeth in the upper jaw wedge-formed, is the lower sharp ; five grinders in each side of the upper-jaw, and four in each of the lower ; clavicles in the skeleton : tail spreading towards each aide; long whis kers. These animals live principally on seeds and fruits. They are extremely ac tire and nimble, climbing trees with great rapidity, and bounding from one to another with a spring truly astonishing. Some are supplied with membranes, which enable them to extend this leap into something approximating to a shoat flight. Some are subterraneous, and others build in trees. They are spright ly, elegant, and interesting.
S. maximus, or the great squirrel, is the largest known species, being equal in size to a cat. It is found in the East In dies, where it pierces the cocoa for the sake of the liquor, to which it is extreme ly attached. It is easily tamed.
8. vulgaris, or the common squirrel, abounds almost throughout Europe, and in the temperate climates of Asia. Its length is about seven inches to the tail, which measures about eight. During the summer's day, it generally remains in its nest, appearing to be annoyed by the heat; but at night it is full of alertness and vivacity, and devoted to excursion and repast. It constructs its nest generally in the fork of two branches of trees, and with particular precaution, with respect to dryness. warmth, and cleanliness. The young are produced sometimes about the beginning of summer, in general about the middle of it, and are three or four in number. Its food consists of various nuts and fruits, of which it stores considerable quantities for its winter consumption ; it is fond also of certain species of fungi. In confinement it will take a vast variety of vegetable substances; hut appears to prefer sugar to every other nourishment. See Mammalia, Plate XVIII. fig. 1.
S. cinereus, or the grey squirrel, is pe culiar to North America, and is about the size of a half-grown rabbit. It resembles the former in its shape and manners. These animals have occasionally commit. ed extreme ravages in some of the states of North America, in the cultivated lands; and to reduce their numbers, the legis lature proclaimed a reward for their de struction. In the year 1T50, a sum of no less than eight thousand pounds was dis tributed in premiums, to persons who had been engaged in killing them, and who must have destroyed between six and seven hundred thousand. It is not easily destroyed by the gun, on account of the perpetual versatility of its move ments, and some of the hest marksn en are often baffled by this extreme agility. It is easily familiarized, and appears sus ceptible of affection and gratitude to its benefactors.
The S. variegatus, or varied squirrel, is nearly twice the size of the last, and differs also in habits, as it resides in holes under the roots of trees, where it pro duces its young, and, like the rest of the genus, accumulates its stores It is a na tive of Mexico.
S. striatus, or the striped squirrel, is met with in the north of Asia and Ame rica, is subterraneous in its habitation, like the last, and is also addicted to hoarding, for winter, nuts and grain. It is distinguished, however, from every other species, by being provided with bags or pouches attached to its cheeks, in which, for the convenience of carriage, it can deposit large quantities of food, to take home with it after having swallowed a full meal. These squirrels abound in Siberia, amidst the woods of maple and fir, at the roots of which they make their burrows. They never mount trees, but when they have no other means of escape from an enemy, yet then they climb them with great celerity. They are very discriminating in their selection of food, and have been seen frequently to exchange cargoes contained in their pouches for a species of food which they casually and unexpectedly met with, and which they happened to prefer to the former. They retain in captivity much of their native wildness, and appear to evince no feelings of regard to their protectors.
S. volans, or the common flying squir rel, is the only one of that description in Europe, and is found there only in the coldest climates. In the north of Asia it occurs more frequently. Its colour above is a white grey, and beneath a perfect white. It is about six inches in length to the tail. It residei generally in hollow trees near the top, is solitary in its habits, associating even in pairs only in the spring. It feeds principally on the cat kins of the birch, and in winter secludes itself in its nest, occasionally quitting it in fine weather. By means of an furry membrane, reaching from the fore feet to the hind ones, these animals are enabled to spring or fly to the dis tance of thirty or forty yards. Climbing nearly to the top of one tree, it directs its movements always downwards, and by spreading this membrane as widely as possible, with its fore feet extremely dis tant from each other, presents such a sur face to the air beneath, as gives it consi derable buoyancy. and converts its elastic bounds into a species of fl ight. The mem brane is also highly serviceable in che rishing the young ones, which are pro duced usually in May, and about three at a birth. See Mammalia, Plate XVIII. fig. 4.
S. petaurista, or the sailing squirrel, is an inhabitant of Java and the Indian Isl ands. and can spring to an immense dis tance from tree to tree, by means of a membrane similar to that of t he preced ing, which is extremely thin in the mid dle, and thicker towards the extremities. This is the largest of all the flying squir rels, and is eighteen inches long, exclu sively of the tail. For the Barbary squir rel and the black squirrel, see Mammalia, Plate XVIII, fig. 2. and 3.