Although the red squirrel is familiar to us all, yet, I think, there are few who really know its habits, which are as interesting as are those of bear or lion. Note, for example, the way he peeps at us from the far side of the tree, and the way he uses his tail as a balance and a help in steering as he leaps. This same tail he uses in the winter as a boa by wrapping it around himself as he lies curled up in his snug house. His vocal exercises are most entertaining also; he is the only singer I know who can carry two parts at a time. Notice some time this autumn when the hickory nuts are ripe that the happy red squirrel is singing you a duet all by himself,--a high, shrill chatter, with a low chuckling accompaniment. We usually regard nuts as the main food of squirrels, but this is not necessarily so; for they are fond of the seeds of pines and hemlocks, and also hang around our orchards for apple-seeds. In fact, their diet is varied. The red squirrel is a great thief and keeps his keen eye on chipmunks and mice, hoping to find where they store their food so that he can steal it if he can do so without danger to his precious self. QUESTIONS ON THE RED SQUIRREL. We want you to make some original observations on the red squirrel. 1. In summer, what is the color of the red squirrel on the upper parts? Beneath? 2. What is the color along the side where the two colors join? 3. Do these colors change in winter? 4. Tell how and where the squirrel makes its nest. 5. Does it carry nuts in its teeth or in its cheeks? 6. Has it cheek pockets like the chipmunk? 7. Does the red squirrel store food for winter use? If so, where? 8. Does it spend its time sleeping in winter like the chipmunk, or does it go out often to get food? 9. Name all the kinds of food which you know it eats. 10. Did you ever see a red squirrel disturb birds' nests? 11. How does a squirrel get at the meat of a hard-shelled nut like a black walnut, or a hickory nut? (Answer this by a sketch, if you can draw.) 12. Do the squirrels of your neighborhood have certain paths in tree-tops which they follow? 13. How many emotions does the squirrel express with his voice? 14. What kind of tracks does the red squirrel make in the snow? (Show this by a sketch if possible.) LEAFLET L. THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY SCHOOL GROUNDS.[67] BY JOHN W. SPENCER. [67] Supplement to Junior Naturalist Monthly, February, 1902. [Illustration] MY DEAR TEACHER: Despite all that is said and done the average school ground is far short of its possibilities in an artistic way. Of this you are well aware, and no doubt you have often wished that you might remedy this defect. Your hours are full of arduous work. Perhaps, however, you can interest your children to help you to clean and to improve the grounds, without much extra care or work on your part.