62 BEACH GRASS 



ous creatures and they travel from one bog to an- 

 other. I have found their spectacular and deco- 

 rative tracks even on the edge of the sea, an un- 

 desirable pond of muskrats. 



Woodchuck tracks are not often seen in the 

 dunes. The animal prefers to dig his hole in 

 stiff glacial gravel and not in soft, shift- 

 ing sand. The best tracks of his I ever saw in 

 the dunes were in wet sand in a dune hollow — 

 each claw, each wrinkle on the sole of the foot 

 was distinct — but alas I I had no photographic 

 film left with which to secure it. In walking lei- 

 surely the footprints of a woodchuck are near 

 together and the toes are frequently dragged. 

 When in a hurry the animal jumps like a rabbit, 

 although less actively, and the tracks are in fours, 

 the larger hind feet side by side in advance, the 

 ismaller ones back of these and one foot diago- 

 nally behind the other. Not only are the front 

 feet smaller than the hind feet, but they show the 

 marks of only four toes, while the larger back 

 feet have five toes. One of these large tracks 

 I measured was two and a half inches long and 

 one and a half inches broad. The distance be- 



