Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, volume 1.djvu/275

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, Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 173.

The Grey Squirrel is too well known to require any description. It migrates in prodigious numbers, crossing large rivers by swimming with its tail extended on the water, and traverses immense tracts of country, in search of the places where food is most abundant. During these migrations, the Squirrels are destroyed in vast quantities. Their flesh is white, very delicate, and affords excellent eating, when the animals are young. "In 1749," says Dr, in the work above referred to, "a premium of three pence a-head was offered for their destruction, which amounted in one year to £. 8000 Sterling, which is equal to about 1,180,000 individuals killed."