436 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



HOW DID THIS WOOIH HUCK BITE? 



BY MISS W. C. KXOWUvS, WASHINGTON, 

 CONNECTICUT. 



If a certain woodchuck that lived in 

 my neighborhood could have seen his 

 shadow on Candlemas Day, I am sure 



THE WOODCHUCK'S MOUTH THAT 

 NEEDED A DENTIST. 



thai he would have been so badly fright- 

 ened at his own profile he would have 

 made good the proverb and forever af- 

 ter dodged the hunter and his gun. 



This particular ground hog, when last 

 seen nibbling juicy roots in the pasture, 

 looked as if he had grown tusks. In 

 fact two of his incisor teeth had contin- 

 ued to grow so long that one of them 

 had curved around like a big horn and 

 actually pierced his upper jaw. 



This woodchuck with the queer in- 

 cisors, when captured, was in a fair con- 

 dition and showed that he must have 

 learned to make good use of his molars 

 for closer examination proved that nei- 

 ther one of his queer horned teeth had 

 anything to bite against, some accident 

 having happened to the opposite tooth in 



both the upper and under jaw. This 

 fact plainly showed that a woodchuck's 

 incisor teeth have a tendency to grow 

 long and like the rabbit's and the squir- 

 rel's throughout life must be kept their 

 proper length by constant gnawing of 

 the roots, seeds and hard substances 

 upon which they feed. 



Since the wood chuck's incisors are 

 softer than the human teeth and so wear 

 off by constant use, one would naturally 

 suppose that they would look like stubs 

 or pegs and be of little service to the 

 animal ; but any country boy can testify 

 that the ground hog's teeth are keen 

 and sharp and that he can put up a good 

 Merit with a dog if he is cornered between 

 the wood lot and his burrow. 



Now if you will examine a wood- 

 chuck's broken incisor tooth you will soon 

 discover the secret of his sharp bite. The 

 front of the long tooth is covered with 

 a very hard enamel while the back of the 

 tooth is protected by the thinnest possi- 

 ble covering. Of course, the hard enamel 

 at the front is more resisting and as the 

 animal gnaws his tooth wears away from 

 the back side and the hard enamel at the 

 front continues to form a sharp cutting 

 edge. 



Nature exacts more than passing ad- 

 miration ; she would have worship. To 

 this end she importunes, with persis- 

 tence and unremitting patience be- 

 sieges us, and undertakes with every 

 crude semblance of a man the culture 

 of that germ of true life — the percep- 

 tion of the Beautiful. — "Where Dwell's 

 the Soul Serene," by Stanton Kirkham 

 Davis. 



i:y 



ON THE HEIGHTS. 



EMMA 1'EIRCE. NEW YORK CITY. 



On the heights come nobler thoughts, 

 On the heights less petty views; 



They broaden our horizon line, 



And lead us worthier things to choose. 



Where nature spreads so boundlessly, 

 One cannot narrowness retain; 



This reaching toward Infinity 

 Must be to all a lasting gain. 



Then often let us seek the heights. 

 These clearer outlines to define; 



And, widening thus our earthly ken, 



Make broad the soul's horizon line. 



