6 The Woodchuck 



very near his game I waited to learn the result. The 

 burrow branched, and following one of the branches 

 the man came upon a little ball of fur, not the skunk 

 he was after, but a woodchuck fast asleep. He was 

 given to me and I took him home. When warmed 

 he slowly awoke, but soon fell asleep again because 

 Nature called for a longer nap. 



Let us select a representative woodchuck family 

 and follow in a general way its career, from the time 

 the young are born until they are safely settled in 

 homes of their own. The cubs usually number four 

 or five, and the date of their birth is not far from 

 the tenth of May. The suug little chamber in which 

 they are bom is located two or three feet under the 

 ground and contains a small cozy bed of dry grass 

 gathered the previous fall. 



By the old rail fence just back of the orchard on 

 my father's farm Uved a woodchuck family. The 

 mother introduced herself one bright warm morning 

 in the latter part of May, just as old Rover and I were 

 starting out for a day's fishing. The shrill whistle 

 she gave was enough of a challenge for any boy and 

 dog. So oflf we started full tilt in the direction of 

 the sound. Of course Rover arrived first on the 

 scene of action, and when I got there he stood thrust- 

 ing his nose in at the entrance of the burrow, wagging 



