TRACKS IN THE SAND 63 



tween the jumps I found in one case to be two 

 feet, four inches. 



Woodchucks hibernate in their holes during the 

 winter, and are more consistent about it than 

 skunks whose tracks are often to be seen in the 

 snow on mild winter days. The only time I ever 

 saw a woodchuck walking on snow was on March 

 14, 1920. There was still much snow on the 

 ground and great icy drifts after a hard winter. 

 On this day I saw a large woodchuck running 

 over the snow near my house. He hid in some 

 bushes but, on my approach, ran on the snow to 

 the middle of the garden, sat still a moment on 

 the drift and then disappeared into it. A round 

 tunnel in the icy snow thirteen inches deep was 

 continued in his hole in the frozen ground. How 

 did he know, sealed up as he was, that it was 

 time to bore through the icy snow and come out? 



The mild winter of 1920, 1921 was a favor- 

 able one to test the saying that if the woodchuck 

 or ground hog comes out of his hole on Candlemas 

 Day — February 2 — and sees his shadow he goes 

 back to his hole to escape the six weeks of cold 

 and storms to follow — 



