THE WOODCHUCK 



HE woodchuck is well known among the 

 farmer boys and girls throughout the 

 Middle and Eastern States, for he is as 

 much a part of the farm as is the brook or the sugar- 

 bush. 



In form he is far from graceful, especially in the 

 latter part of the summer when his body becomes 

 very fat and pouchy. The color of his fur varies from 

 a reddish brown to a grizzled gray or, occasionally, 

 black; while his teeth, like those of the squirrel and 

 prairie-dog, are strong and well adapted for cutting. 

 The woodchuck is of the earth earthy, and there is 

 a peculiar odor about the place where he dwells, for 

 he lives not in the lap, but in the bosom, of Mother 

 Earth, — however his summer home may be in a wall 

 or stone-heap. The woodchuck of the present day 

 is rather inclined to desert the old home in the woods, 

 where he fed upon tender bark and roots of various 

 kinds, and become a dweller in the field near the 



clover-patch and garden. Here he is so destructive 



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