Patricia Sue Boggess age 12, of Charleston, . Va., for her question:

Do flying squirrels have wings?

The flying squirrel does not have wings He is not a bird or a bat, In fact, he does not really fly. His dives through the air at a made with a sort of built‑in parachute, He floats down from the top of a tree like a furry little flying carpet,

Standing still, the pretty little fellow looks like a lump of fur, Only the very tips of his toes peep out from under his thick coat, This is because his parachute reaches down his sides, He has an extra piece of skin which grows from his back down the sides of his legs, It is attached at his wrists and ankles and entirely covered with fur.

When he jumps, the flying squirrel spreads his four legs out flat from his sides, This opens out the parachute like a little mat. It breaks the speed of his fall, Naturally, he cannot use his parachute to rise and soar in the air, All he can do is leap with safety .from a tree top. He usually lands at the base of another tree and starts at once to scramble up for another parachute jump,