THK WOOIX.'IIIICK OR (JKOHNI) H()(J. 



481 



tinue to grow indefinitely, sometimes penetrating the flesh and 

 even the bones of the skull. The molar teeth have prominent, 

 W-shaped crowns which do not wear smooth, even in old age. 



Range. — The woodchuck's habitat extends from New England 

 and North Dakota to Georgia and Louisiana. Other species are 

 found to the north and west. In Indiana it is found in every 

 county. 



Habits. — The woodchuck, or ground hog, as he is more often 

 called in southern Indiana, is noted for his long winter's sleep. 

 Retiring to his burrow when the first hard frosts come, he shuts 



Fig. 7. — Skull of Marmota monax. After Baird. 



himself off from the world with a goodly pile of earth and sleeps 

 in blissful ignorance of winter and its cold. The popular idea 

 that he comes out on a certain day is nothing more than a super- 

 stition, just as it is a superstition that leads people to believe that 

 the coming of spring can be forecasted by the cloudiness of the 

 sky on the second of February. 



If the winter nap of our sleepy friend does not have a regularity 

 tliat would seem to make an alarm clock a necessary part of the 

 (Kiuipment of his biirroAv, its length can nevertheless be foretold 

 with some degree of accuracy. In southern Indiana the animals 

 usually retire about the middle of October. I have seen them on 



[ai] 



