American settlers throwing sticks at grey squirrels in trees, 18th century. Squirrels were a pest to maize farmers, and states paid two pennies for every squirrel head. In 1749, Pennsylvania paid out 8 thousand pounds in rewards for their destruction. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from Reverend Thomas Smith’s The Naturalist’s Cabinet, or Interesting Sketches of Animal History, Albion Press, James Cundee, London, 1806. Smith, fl. 1803-1818, was a writer and editor of books on natural history, religion, philosophy, ancient history and astronomy.

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