. Wild life of orchard and field;. during thehours of darkness. The faint rustling of leaves,the pattering of light footsteps on the ground, theconstant dropping of something from the trees,the sharp squeaking of unseen creatures, the lone-some note of a wakeful bird, the bustle and chip-per of something chasing something else up thetrunk of a neighboring tree, the cry of distress assome bird or beast of prey seizes its unhappy vic-tim—these and numberless other noises tell oflife, active and abounding. To this confusing cho-rus of the night the flying - squirrels contributenot a little, for f
. Wild life of orchard and field;. during thehours of darkness. The faint rustling of leaves,the pattering of light footsteps on the ground, theconstant dropping of something from the trees,the sharp squeaking of unseen creatures, the lone-some note of a wakeful bird, the bustle and chip-per of something chasing something else up thetrunk of a neighboring tree, the cry of distress assome bird or beast of prey seizes its unhappy vic-tim—these and numberless other noises tell oflife, active and abounding. To this confusing cho-rus of the night the flying - squirrels contributenot a little, for from twilight until dawn they areabroad, hunting and hunted, working and play-ing, their big, black eyes expanded to catch what-ever thin rays of light illumine the leafy watching in some moonlit glade, you mayperhaps see their singular and graceful these glidings they cannot change their di-rection to any extent, nor acquire a new Impulse,nor go beyond their power to sail down an inclined 196 Co ?4. WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD plane upon the parachute formed by the loose skinof their sides, which reaches to the feet and is ex-tended by their outstretched legs. Some hollow of an old tree-trunk gives them ahome—preferably the snug chamber cut years be-fore by a woodpecker; but sometimes they choosea cranny among rocks, or, more often nowadays,take possession of a garden bird-box or a nook be-neath the eaves or inside the garret of a will, indeed, make themselves exceedinglyat home anywhere about the premises when en-couraged, a privilege careful housekeepers arechary of granting after a little experience of themischief their inquisitive teeth may do to furni-ture, upholstery, and hangings, not to speak ofthe cheerful racket they keep up when a lot of thembecome colonized in the attic and walls, just at thetime when other folks like to have the house do drive away all the mice, however. Flying - squirrels feed mainly on th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectanimalb, bookyear1902
