312 , MAMMALIA. 



Audubon and Bachman state: "In the Northern and Middle 

 States, where the burrows of the Mar>'hind marmot {Arctoinys 

 mo7iax) and the holes resorted to by the common skunk, {Mephitis 

 chiiiga,) are numerous, the Gray Rabbit, in order to effect its 

 escape when pursucxl, betakes itself to them, and as they arc gen- 

 erally deep, or [)laced amono- rocks or roots, it would rc;(|uire more 

 labour to unearth it when it has tak(!n possession of either of these 

 animal's retreats than it is worth, and it is oenerally left unmolested. 

 It is not alwa\s safe in these cases, however, for the skunk occa- 

 sionally is 'at home' when the Rabbit runs into his hole, and often 

 catches and devours the astonished fugitive before it can retrace 

 its steps and reach the mouth of the burrow." * 



Kennicott says : " The gre)- rabbit is very prolific, producing 

 young three or four times a year, and usually from four to six at a 

 birth. In open ground the female scratches a shallow hollow, in 

 which to bring forth her young. In this she forms a nest of soft 

 leaves and grasses, well-lined with fur from her own body ; and 

 when she is absent, the >oung are alwa>'s completely covered and 

 concealed in the nest, which they leave at an earl)- age, and sepa- 

 rate from the mother as soon as able to take care of themselves." f 



* Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. I, 1846, p. 177. 



t Quadrupeds of Illinois Injurious and Beneficial to the Farmer. By Robert Kennicott, 185S, 

 p. 81. 



