252 MAMMALIA. 



postulations of its rural constituency, and a committee was ap- 

 pointed, of which the Hon. Charles R. Corning was made chair- 

 man. In due course of time the committee prepared a report 

 which was submitted to the House, accompanied by a bill pro- 

 viding for a bounty of ten cents for each Woodchuck killed within 

 the limits of the State. This act was approved Sept. n, 1883.* 



* From the " Report of the Woodchuck Committee " I beg leave to reproduce the following 

 extracts: " Your committee finds that the Woodchuck is absolutely destitute of any interesting 

 qualities, that is, such qualities as would recommend it to the average inhabitant of New Hamp- 

 shire. . . . Its body is thick and squatty, and its legs so short that its belly seems almost to 

 touch the ground. This is not a pleasing picture. Its si/e varies all the way from those reared in 

 Strafford County to the huge fellows that claim a homestead among the fertile farms of Grafton. 

 Woodchucks have been known to attain a large size, even fifteen pounds. This, however, would 

 not be an average Woodchuck. The casual observer is not attracted by the brilliancy of a Wood- 

 chuck's color. When one thinks it over, it certainly would seem that the family of Woodchucks 

 was designed and brought forth under conditions of severe simplicity. While the usual color 

 cannot be said to be a decided red, it is not Auburn, but more like Deny, which is next to Auburn. 

 Your committee has now in mind the under side of the creature. The body even in very young 

 Woodchucks, is inclined to be gray a very significant circumstance in the mind of your commit- 

 tee, when the total depravity of the animal is considered. Besides Deny and gray, there are other 

 hues blended about the Woodchuck ; but these are merely details, and of no practical account. 

 Like thieves in all climes, the Woodchuck remains securely concealed in its hole for a 

 great part of the day. Its only purpose in venturing forth during the daytime is to get a good lay 

 of the land. . . . Like the bear, the gait of the thing under consideration is plantigrade, but 

 in order to occasionally exercise its toes it climbs small trees and shrubs ; then, perfectly satisfied 

 that its pedal extremities are in good working trim, it descends to the ground and again resumes 

 its monotonous waddle The Woodchuck, despite its deformities both of mind and of body, possesses 

 some of the amenities of a higher civilization. It cleans its face after the manner of the squirrels 

 and licks its fur after the manner of a cat. Your committee is too wise, however, to be deceived 

 by this purely superficial observance of better habits. Contemporaneous with the ark, the Wood- 

 chuck has not made any material progress in social science, and it is now too late to attempt to re- 

 form the wayward sinner. The average age of the Woodchuck is too long to please your commit- 

 tee, but the estimate of Woodchuck population can only be approximated. . . . The Wood- 

 chuck is not only a nuisance, but also a bore. It burrows beneath the soil, and then chuckles to 

 see a mowing machine, man and all, slump into one of these holes and disappear. . . . Your 

 committee is confident that a small bounty will prove of incalculable good ; at all events, even as 

 an experiment, it is certainly worth trying ; therefore your committee would respectfully recom- 

 mend that the accompanying bill be passed. CHARLES R. CORNING, for the Committee. 



" AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A BOUNTY ON WOODCHUCKS. 



"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in general Court convened : 

 "Section I. Tf any person shall kill any Woodchuck within this State, and shall produce the tail 

 thereof to any one of the selectmen of the town within which said woodchuck was killed, or if 

 there be no selectmen in said town, then to any one of the selectmen of the nearest town having 

 such selectmen, said selectmen shall take the said tail and so dispose of it that it shall not again be 

 used for the purposes of bounty, and shall pay to the person so producing it the sum of ten cents : 

 Provided, that no bounty shall be paid for any woodchuck killed on Sunday. 



" Section 2. The selectmen of every such town shall keep a true account of the moneys so paid 

 as bounty on woodchucks, and upon presentation of such amount, certified by a majority of such 



