2i8 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST. 



But the chairman of the committee appointed to 

 inquire into the moral status of the woodchuek — Mr. 

 C. E. Corning — was too wise a man not to see the 

 anomalous character of his task. So he turned in a 

 report worthy of a gifted humorist, whose pleasant- 

 ries are instinct with keen wit and harmless satire. 

 Indeed, he most ingeniously aimed over the wood- 

 chuck's shoulder and threw the clown's cap on the 

 farmer's head. So the " beastie " came off easy with 

 the following uncomplimentary comments on his per- 

 son : " Your committee finds the woodchuek destitute 

 of any interesting qualities. . . . The casual observer 

 is not attracted by the brilliancy of his colors. . . . 

 The family was evidently designed and brought forth 

 under conditions of severe simplicity. . . . The crea- 

 ture's only purpose in venturing forth during the 

 day is to get a good ' lay of the land.' Like the bear, 

 the gait of the thing under consideration is plan- 

 tigrade ; but in order occasionally to exercise its 

 toes, it climbs small trees and shrubs ; then, perfectly 

 satisfied that its pedal extremities are in good work- 

 ing trim, it descends to the ground and again resumes 

 its monotonous waddle. The woodchuek, despite its 

 deformities of both mind and body, possesses some of 

 the amenities of a higher civilization. It cleans its 

 face after the manner of a squirrel, and licks its fur 

 after the manner of a cat ; your committee is too 



