QUADRUPEDS. 37 



ner ; J uring the whole time the head is moved up and down to 

 aid in filling the mouth to the very utmost. This is repeated until 

 every fragment at hand is collected, and the whole transferred to 

 the sleeping apartment, into which the woodchuck retires towards 

 the decline of the day, and remains there until the morning is far 

 advanced. At some seasons of the year the woodchuck is seen 

 out on moonlight nights at a considerable distance from the bur- 

 row, either in search of better pasture or looking for a mate ; on 

 such occasions, when attacked by a dog, the woodchuck makes 

 battle, and when the individual is full-grown, his bite is very se- 

 vere. The teeth of the dog give him vast superiority in the com- 

 bat, as when once he seizes, he is sure of the hold until the parts 

 bitten are torn through, while the woodchuck can merely pinch 

 his foreteeth together, and must renew his attempts very frequent- 

 ly. The fight is also soon ended by the dog seizing the wood- 

 chuck by the small of the back, and crushing the spine so as to 

 disable his antagonist effectually. 



The woodchuck is to be destroyed by dogs. The most of farm 

 dogs are very fond of pursuing them. If the woodchuck escape 

 to his hole, the dog will readily dig him out. But a speedier way 

 is to smoke his hole, and drive him out, when the dog readily 

 catches and destroys him. He is easily shot, and may be handily 

 taken in traps. 



THE RACCOON. There are few parts of the American continent 

 in which the Racoon has not, at some period, been found native, 

 from the borders of Nootka Sound to the forests of Mexico, and 

 still more southern regions. 



Were we to form an opinion of this animal's character solely 

 from external appearances, the mingled expression of sagacity and 

 innocence exhibited in his aspect, his personal neatness and gentle 

 movements, might all incline us to believe that he possessed a 

 guileless and placable disposition. But in this, as in most other 

 cases, whve judgments are formed without sufficient examination, 

 we should be in error, and find, that to the capricious mischievous- 

 ness of the monkey, the racoon adds a blood-thirsty and vindictive 

 spirit, peculiarly his own. In the wild state, this sanguinary appe- 

 tite frequently leads to his own destruction, which his nocturnal 

 habits might otherwise avert ; but as he slaughters the tenants of 

 the poultry-yard with indiscriminate ferocity, the vengeance of the 

 plundered farmer speedily retaliates on him the death so liberally 

 dealt among the feathered victims. This destructive propensity ^ 



