its diurnal habits, and in not becoming torpid in winter, it comes near the
squirrels. It is difficult to tame.”
The hackee is common on the north shores of Lakes Huron and Superior; but
I do not believe that it exists in a higher latitude than the 50th parallel. Although
very wild, it is fond of establishing its abode in the immediate vicinity of man,
and multiplies greatly in cultivated places.
DESCRIPTION
Of a recent male specimen, killed in April at Penetanguishene.
D en ta l fo rm u la ; incisors, f ; can. jjq-; grinders, ^Es = 20.
Incisors of a deep yellowish-brown colour, and marked with a number of very fine longitudinal
furrows. They are compressed, as is usual in squirrels, but they are not so strong in
proportion as the incisors of the Hudson’s Bay squirrel, though they are longer. The lower
incisors are twice as long, as the upper ones, The molars are nearly equal to each other in
size, and thei^crowns have nearly circular slightly excavated areas, with a small notch
exteriorly; they are surrounded by a thin plate of enamel, which acquires a black crust.
Form. Body slender; the head tapers from the ears to the nose; the forehead is slightly
convex; but the crown of the head is depressed; the nose is not very Obtuse, and is clothed
with short hairs. The nostrils open downwards, and their margins and septum are naked
The w h iske rs are fine, rather shorter than the head, and of a black colour. There are also’
some fine black hairs on the cheek, and one or two longer ones springing from the eyebrow,
E y e s , large; ears, ovate, rounded, erect, covered with short hair, and without tufts on their
margins. The cheek-pouches, which are of moderate size, and extend but a very short way
behind the ear, open into the mouth between the incisors and grinders. There are nine
transverse folds or plaits on the palate, of which the five posterior ones are divided by a
msesial ridgè'. J
Colour.— The dorsal aspect of the head is covered with yellowish-brown hairs, which are
mixed with a smaller number of black ones. There is a black spot near the tip of the nose.
The eyelashes are black, the eyelids white; there is a dark brown streak between the eye
and the ear, and a broad, yellowish-brown stripe extends from the nose, under the eye
to behind the ear, deepening in its middle to chestnut-brown. The anterior part of thé
back is hoary-gray, from a mixture of black and white hairs. The rump, hips, and exterior
surfaces of the thighs are of a bright orange-brown colour, mixed with a few black hairs. A
dark dorsal line commences at the occiput, and reaches to within an inch of the tail. This
line is brownish at its commencement, but deepens to black posteriorly. There are also, on
each flank, two black lines, which commence behind the shoulders, extend to the hips, and
are separated by a moderately broad white stripe. All these stripes are more or less bordered
with brown. The sides, beneath the stripes, present a mixture of gray and very light brown.
The fur, covering the throat, chin, belly, and inner surface of the extremities, is longer and
thinner than that on the dorsal aspect, and is white throughout its whole length. The fur on
the upper parts of the body forms a smooth coat, and is blackish-gray at its roots. There is
no defined line of separation betwixt the colours of the back and belly.
T a il, sub-distichous, not bushy, brown for a small space at its'root, afterwards grayish
approaching to black on its upper surface, the black hairs predominating over the whitish
ones. Underneath it is reddish-brown, with a margin of hoary-black. When the hind-legs
are stretched out, they reach within a quarter of an inch of the tip of the tail.
Ex tremities.—The fore-feet have four toes, and an imperfect thumb; the palm is naked,
with five tubercles, three of which are situated at the roots of the toes, and two larger ones
behind. On the inner side of one of these there is a minute wart in place of a thumb, entirely
covered by a thin, roundish nail; the claws are curved, compressed, and sharp-pointed,
convex above, and channelled underneath ; they bear the same proportion to the size of the
animal that those of the Hudson’s Bay squirrel do ; are much smaller than the claws of the
spermophiles, and are partially concealed by the hairs of the toes. There are five tpes on the
h in d -fe e t,— the three middle ones nearly of equal length, the outer and inner ones shorter;
the hind part of the sole is hairy.
Length of head and body
■ ■ head • • •
,, tail, including fur
„ ,, (vertebrae)
Dimensions
Of a recent specimen;
Inches.
6 0 Height of ears . . «
Incites
. 0
Lines.
4
2 0 Breadth of ditto . , 0 3
3 8 Length of middle fore-claw . . . o 0 |
3 0