Astraea Redux
The brown squirrel is, I think, multiplying again after some very lean years. A melancholy corroboration has been recorded in my neighbourhood, where no brown native squirrel has been seen for some years. A spacious garden has been beset by grey squirrels, which at last proved so destructive both of fruit and birds' nests that the soft-hearted owner at last steeled herself to call 'in a nun with a gun, who had instructions to shoot both grey squirrels and rabbits, which also were in evidence. A shot was presently heard, and the man came proudly to the house carrying the body of a red squirrel. He was not a little disappointed by his reception. Other red squirrels survive in the garden, and seem to have no difficulty in consenting to a mutual relation with the grey. It remains true that as a rule the two do not often flourish together, and the grey is the master.
Previous page
