48 RODENTS OF IOWA 



the day and on clear, moonlight nights. Usually they are quite 

 shy and when disturbed move with a low, loping gait. If .cornered 

 they are able to put up a very presentable fight. 



In many localities farmers report this species as destroying young 

 chickens and ducks. One of the members of the board of super- 

 visors in Dallas county in 1914 reported to the writer several such 

 instances, and further said that in a single night sixty of his young 

 chickens which were kept in a brooder were killed and some were 

 partly eaten by these animals. 



In Dubuque, Dallas, Clarke, and other counties visited, these 

 animals .cause considerable damage by making burrows behind the 

 abutment walls of small bridges; and in many instances entire 

 approaches to bridges have been washed out during heavy rains, 

 en account of their having been undermined by woodchucks. The 

 animals seem to be most troublesome and abundant on low roads 

 near timber; on the higher roads away from the timber their 

 harmfulness is not so great. Of course cement bridges and cul- 

 verts offer something in the way of protection in such cases, but 

 even with such precautions considerable damage often follows. 



In places it is reported that these animals burrow under shocks 

 of grain, not only destroying the grain but in addition leaving 

 large holes in the earth which may be the beginnings of washouts 

 or in which farm stock may step with possible serious injury. 



Again, many complaints have teen made that the "dead earth" 

 thrown out by the animals in constructing their burrows covers 

 up the vegetation and underlying productive soil, and that the 

 earth thus thrown out is not productive until it has been fertilized 

 and cultivated for a time. 



The flesh of the woodchuck is said to be very palatable and 

 there is no good reason why it should not be considered fit for 

 food. The habits of the animals are cleanly, the burrows and 

 nests are clean, and there is nothing in their food habits to render 

 them objectionable. The fur is not much used, since it is harsh and 

 coarse ; but the skin when tanned makes a good, pliable, and wear- 

 resisting leather. .; 



In consideration of its damage to agricultural interests and to 

 the successful upkeep of good roads, which have now come to be 

 a necessity, the woodchuck must be reckoned with; and here as 

 in other instances attempts have been made in some counties to 

 reduce the numbers by offering bounties. The following table 



