Though the spread of this alien is general it has
favourite spots, and, as it seems to me, rather prefers populous places. It is massed in the neighbourhood of Berkhampstead, which competes with a favourite region in Buckinghamshire for density of population. Dwellers in both districts tell me that they have not seen a brown squirrel for years. A particular curiosity of habit may be worth some publicity, for it represents one weakness of the animal's skill in survival. If you strike the trunk of a tree with a stick, the noise or vibration produces a nervous reaction ; and very often, though I imagine not always, it will leap down and seek a less resounding resort. The trouble is that if trees are juxtaposed its skill in jumping from one to the other is as great as its skill in interposing the trunk between itself and the enemy.
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