THE WOODCHUCK. 



VERY similar in its bodily struc- 

 ture to the marmot, of which it 

 is said to be the nearest Amer- 

 ican relative, is the woodchuck 

 or g^round-hog {Arcfomys monax). It 

 is about eighteen inches in length, in- 

 cluding the tail. The body is stout, 

 the head broad and flat, the legs short 

 and thick, the fur blackish or grizzled 

 on the upper portion and of a chestnut 

 red on the under surface of the body. 

 The ground-hog is found in all parts 

 of the region extending from the 

 Atlantic coast west to the Missouri, 

 Iowa, and Minnesota. It inhabits 

 woods, prairies, and meadows, lives on 

 roots, vegetables, and herbs, and is 

 especially fond of red clover. Its 

 burrows are large excavations, and in 

 the early autumn it busies itself in 

 storing provisions for its long winter 

 retreat. It is said to be one of the 

 first hibernating animals to retire to 

 winter quarters and one of the earliest 

 to come forth in the spring, the length 

 of its retirement varying with the 

 locality, and being shorter in the south 

 than in the north. In the northern 

 United States it usually retires about 

 the first of October and reappears 

 about the middle of March. A recent 

 writer and close observer says that 

 woodchucks hibernate in pairs, but he 

 never knew one of these proverbially 

 sleepy creatures to leave its hole until 

 warm weather came — in spite of the 

 alleged practice it has of coming out 

 invariably on the second day of February 

 to fix the weather for the rest of the 

 winter. He took the trouble once to 

 dig into a woodchuck's burrow on a 

 Candlemas day — and a warm, cloudy day 

 it was; just such a day as the ground- 

 hog is said to choose to come out of 

 his hole and stay out. He found two 

 woodchucks in the burrow, with no 

 more sign of life about them than if 

 they had been shot. From ail outward 

 appearances he could have taken them 

 out and had a game of football with 

 them without their knowing it. When 

 the animal begins its hibernation it 

 carefully closes the entrance to its 

 burrow. Dr. Bachmann, who had 

 marked a burrow to which he knew 

 a pair of woodchucks had retired, 



caused it to be opened early in Novem- 

 ber, and found the two animals, per- 

 fectly dormant, lying coiled up close 

 together in a nest of dry grass, twenty- 

 five feet from the entrance. 



The young woodchucks, of which 

 there are from four to six in a litter, are 

 born about the end of April. The 

 mother takes tender care of them until 

 they are able to shift for themselves. 



The woodchuck, when taken young, 

 is easily tamed, and becomes an inter- 

 esting pet. The little animal can be 

 taught to come when called, to run for 

 food when whistled to, and to answer to 

 a name. One called Chuck was very 

 fond of bread spread with butter and 

 sugar. If plain bread were offered to 

 him he would taste it, make a wry face, 

 spit out the bit in his mouth, and throw 

 away the piece he held, and then he 

 would straighten himself up and hold 

 out his shining black hands for bread 

 ivitk sugar on it. He always sat up 

 stiffly on his hind legs when eating, and 

 it was a comical sight to see him hold- 

 ing a long banana in his arms, until he 

 had eaten the whole of it, blinking his 

 bright black eyes with satisfaction. 

 Chuck was taught many tricks, to bal- 

 ance a stick on his nose, swing in a 

 trapeze, draw a toy cart, and the like. 

 He was very affectionate and tractable. 



Early in September Chuck began to 

 eat voraciously and soon became very 

 fat, but in the first week in October his 

 appetite failed; he ate at first once a 

 day, then once in two days, and after 

 awhile he became quite restless and 

 stupid. He was given his liberty, and 

 watched closely to learn his habits. 

 He began gnawing grass, gathering 

 dry leaves and tucking them in various 

 corners. At length he found a place 

 that suited him to dig, and then he 

 began making his nest. When the 

 excavation was complete Chuck dis- 

 appeared for several days. One even- 

 ing he tapped on the kitchen door. 

 When the door was opened he ran to 

 a basket of apples and ate one, then 

 ate a slice of bread and sugar. He ap- 

 peared crazy with haste, and as soon as 

 he was through eating he scampered 

 off, to be gone a long time. On the 

 first day of February Chuck crept out 



