A SEMIANNUAL SLBEPEK. 247 



ger that he would chuck his dirt whore he d d 



pleased ! That settled it ; the dog has been hunting 

 for the gross offender ever since, and the name 

 " woodchuck " stuck to the whole tribe. 



The general appearance of the animal is not irre- 

 sistibly attractive ; he is grizzly brown over the back 

 and chestnut color beneath ; * his body is about thir- 

 teen and the tail four inches long ; he is so loosely 

 " hung " that apparently he has less bones in his 

 anatomy than a cat. But who does not know the 

 woodchuck well, and what country dog has not soiled 

 his nose in enlarging the endless burrow all to no 

 purpose? He seems to be an encumbrance on the 

 farm, without attraction or interest except for the 

 small boy and the dog. 



Not many years ago the farmers of New Hamp- 

 shire, finding the woodchuck an unmitigated bore, 

 demanded of the State Legislature some measure to 

 relieve them from the impositions of the beast. Alas 

 for the woodchuck ! a bounty of ten cents was placed 

 upon his devoted head, and he could venture to stick 

 his whiskers beyond the confines of his burrow in 

 safety only on Sunday, because on that day, if his 

 body fell into the hands of the enemy, the devout 

 Legislature refused to allow the bounty. 



* Melanistie— that is, black— phases of the woodchuok's coat 

 are not uncommon. 



