484 



REPORT OP STATE GEOLOGIST. 



much l)etter results. An ounce of bisulphide of carbon soaked into 

 cotton or an old rag and thrown as far as possible down the hole 

 of a woodchuck will usually asphyxiate the inhabitants. The fumes 

 of this chemical are heavy and go downward, so that it is not 

 necessary to dOYer the hole if care is taken to throw the substance 

 as far down as possible. 



Poison can sometimes be put in a ripe apple, which should then 

 be left along the paths used by the animal at a little distance from 

 the den. This, of course, can only be done where there is no danger 

 of man or domestic animals eating the poisoned fruit. 



In the early spring when the animals are still weak from the 

 winter's fasting they can often be caught by setting a steel trap 

 well down inside the hole and partially covering it with dirt. There 

 is a chance, however, that the animal will bite off the foot just 

 below the jaws of the trap and thus free itself. In late summer 

 it requires a very strong trap to hold a full grown woodchuck, 

 as they are then very strong and their first effort, when entrapped, 

 is to pull free, and in this attempt they are often successful. 



The flesh of these animals is said to be tender and well flavored. 

 The woodchuck is a dainty feeder, usually eating nothing but juicy 

 fruits and tender grass and clover, and there is no well-founded 

 reason for thinking him unclean. There is, however, a strong an- 

 tipathy among many people to eating most kinds of animals with 

 whose flesh they are unfamiliar. If a taste for the meat of these 

 animals could be cultivated, it would help to solve the problem of 

 getting rid of a serious pest. 



Genus Sciuropterus Cuvier. 



Sciuroptcrus Cuvier, Dents du mamiferes, p. 255, 1825. 



Dental Formula.—l, C, Pm, fl?; M; ^Ef = 22. 



Generic characters. — A membrane extends along the sides of the 

 body from wrist of fore-limb to ankle of hind leg. The body is 

 covered with very dense, long, soft fur, pure white underneath, 

 varying from gray to brown on the back and without distinct spots 

 or markings of any kind. Tail very broad and flat. Skull much 

 depressed posteriorly. Fore-limb with a supplementary bone artic- 

 ulating with the outer side of the wrist and helping to expand the 

 membrane. 



The genus is represented by several species in North America 

 as well as Europe and Asia. Only one species is found in Indiana 



