THE MARMOT 



hay. When this work is completed, the whole family falls into a death-like sleep 

 lasting from six to eight months ; in this torpid condition, well protected from the 

 intense cold, they remain till awakened to new life by the warmth of returning 

 spring. 



Marmots feed upon a number of different kinds of Alpine plants, as well as 

 on the fresh or dried grass found in the neighbourhood of their burrows. When 

 eating, they sit up on their hind-legs and hold the food in their mouths after 

 the manner of squirrels ; and the herbage they consume is so full of sap, that they 

 seldom require to drink. The same upright position is assumed when they first 

 come out of their burrows, in order that they may see whether all is safe ; if danger 

 threatens, they utter a shrill whistle and disappear with marvellous rapidity into 

 the depths of the burrow. Frequently they take up their position on some large 

 rock in the neighbourhood of the burrow, on which they can either sit up and survey 

 the prospect, or bask in the warmth of the summer sun. 



Their extraordinary wariness and the rapidity with which they disappear 

 from view are due to their numerous enemies, among which man, foxes, and 

 eagles and other birds-of-prey are the chief. It requires only the shadow of an 

 eagle's wings to make them utter their piercing, whistling scream and vanish into 

 the holes, from which they do not reappear for some time. As a rule, they only 

 remain above ground while the sun is shining, and they keep entirely below during 

 bad weather, so that they are regarded by the peasants as weather-prophets. 



To the Savoyards and other Alpine peasantry the marmot is a valuable 

 animal ; its flesh being much esteemed as food, when it has been freed from a 

 certain disagreeable odour by smoking. The fat is regarded as a remedy for many 

 diseases ; and a freshly removed marmot skin is considered wonderfully efficacious 

 in cases of rheumatism. Marmots are caught either by trapping or by digging them 

 out of their burrows. Years ago Savoyard organmen used frequently to be accom- 

 panied by a marmot or two. 



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