§8 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society. [Vol. 8, No. 2. 



"They have come in recently. Only a year ago (1907) we saw 

 the first one here. They are now quite common." It would be 

 interesting to know in this case the method by which distribution 

 was effected. The colony is located between the Duluth, South 

 Shore and Atlantic and the Northern Pacific railroads. However 

 it seems hardly possible that the spermophiles could have been 

 transported by rail because : first, spermophiles are not arboreal 

 mammals and the probability of their getting upon a railroad car 

 is minimum ; second, since a colony has been established, if they 

 were introduced by this method it would have been necessary 

 that either a pregnant female should have been the original stock, 

 or that a male and a female by chance should have taken their 

 abode in the same immediate vicinity after dislodging from the 

 train. It is improbable that a spermophile could have had access 

 to the locality from the west by any other than artificial means ; a 

 series of rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior and alter- 

 nating with pine ridges creates a barrier which it seems would be 

 prohibitous to a migration of members of this genus. The most 

 feasible explanation at present is that ingression was by a gradual 

 migration from the south. Careful field work may disclose sev- 

 eral isolated colonies to the southward which finally connect with 

 the area of general distribution which extends north at least to 

 Barron County. 



Marmota monax (Linnaeus). 

 Woodchuck. 



A single woodchuck was seen September 2, 1908 in a clover 

 field near Hammills Lake, four miles northwest of Cable, Bay- 

 field County. 



Geomys bursarius (Shaw). 

 Pocket Gopher. 



The work of pocket gophers was observed at Bardon Lake, 

 Chippewa Falls, Durand, Gordon, Iron River, Minong and Solon 

 Springs. Pocket gophers are excessively abundant in parts of 

 the sandy country thruout the southern two thirds of Bayfield and 

 Douglas Counties. 



Lepus americanus phaeonotus Allen. 

 Minnesota Varying Hare. 



Varying hares were reported abundant in favorable places in 

 most parts of Ashland, Bayfield and Douglas Counties. One was 

 seen at Odanah. Six specimens in the writers collection were 

 taken December 26, 1908, near Cable, Bayfield County. 



