Abstract
THE grey squirrel has become almost as valuable as the sea-serpent to correspondents of British newspapers, and genuine inquirers who are distraught between the assertions of the ‘prosquirrelites’ and the ‘anti-squirrelites’ will be glad to have this authoritative work at hand. It touches upon the life of the grey squirrel in its native home in eastern and central North America, but its real purpose is to describe the invader in the land it has invaded with such success that from one centre (out of about thirty) it has spread over 1,350 square miles, and that, in thirty years. The food and habits, the much discussed relations with the native red squirrel and other animals, and the economic aspects of the pest are dealt with thoroughly, the conclusion being reached that three main counts have been proved against it damage to forests by peeling bark and destroying shoots, destruction of agricultural and garden produce, including fruit, and destruction of birds eggs and young. Suggestions are made for the destruction of grey squirrels, but the seriousness of the menace in the British Isles has not yet been realised.
The Grey Squirrel: the Introduction and Spread of the American Grey Squirrel in the British Isles, its Habits, Food and Relations with the Native Fauna of the Country.
A. D.
Middleton
By. Pp. viii + 107 + 8 plates. (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 1931.) 4s. 6d. net.
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The Grey Squirrel: the Introduction and Spread of the American Grey Squirrel in the British Isles, its Habits, Food and Relations with the Native Fauna of the Country . Nature 131, 45 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131045b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131045b0