EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 151 
foot from the ground, plainly to warm and dry 
themselves in the sun, having muddied it all 
over. I also saw where one had sunned him¬ 
self on a stone at the foot of a small pitch pine, 
and tried his teeth on a dead limb of the pine. 
They could not go in or out of these sandy 
burrows without being completely covered with 
sandy mud. The path over the snow between 
these holes was quite covered with it. They 
have but four toes on the fore feet with the 
rudiment of a thumb. The woodchuck’s first 
journey then appears to be to some neighboring 
hole which he remembers a dozen or fifteen rods 
off, and, perchance, he goes as straight or uner¬ 
ringly to it as if he had not been asleep all win¬ 
ter. Apparently, after a -little gossiping there, 
his first work is to clear out the entrance to bis 
burrow, ejecting the leaves and sand which have 
there collected. None have traveled beyond 
these holes, except that one track leads into the 
swamp. But here are the tracks of foxes bound 
on longer journeys. They are generally ten or 
twelve inches apart lengthwise, by three to five 
wide, 0 o 9 0 but are irreg¬ 
ular, now two at the usual distance, then two 
close together or three or four inches apart only. 
The foot is very shapely, much like a dog’s. 
March 16, 1858.A still, foggy, and 
rather warm day. I heard this morning . . . . 
