The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1894-03-21
PROPHETIC GROUNDHOGS.
A CROSS BETWEEN A MOUSE AND
A MONKEY.
Their Habits, Home and Food and
How They Live Through the
Winter-Oueerest of Mammals.

ally be the case If the sun shines, he
returns to his underground habitation
for another long rest, being convinced
that winter is destined to linger in the
lap of the forthcoming spring.
This interesting animal is equally
we'll known as the "woodchuck. But
it has great many other names be-
sides. In fact, people would seem to
have exhausted ingenuity in devising
varied designations for the beast.
Linuaeus, the famous founder of the
modern school of natural history, en-
titled it "mus monax," which, being
interpreted, means a cross between q
mouse and p monkey. The Canadian
French speak of it as the "siffieur," or
"whistler." This is on account of the
whistling noise which it sometimes
utters when startled. In She great
furbearing region about Hudson's
Bay it answers to the name of the
"thickwood badger" while to the
westward the hardy inhabitants of
Alaska mean woodchuck when they
exclaim 'tarbagan, and the wild
Chippewas likewise when they grunt
''kath-hilloe-kooay."
The ANIMALS habits do not vary with
the multitude of his titles. He lives
in burrow remarkable for its extent.
1t is dug in the slope of hill or by
the side of big stone, making an ex-
cavation twenty or thirty feet long,
which descends obliquely four or five
feet, then gradually rising to large
round chamber, where the grounding
family sleeps and brings up its young.
The little ones are born three to eight
at time. When the farmer, with his
horses and moving machine, chances
to slump into one of these holes, dis
appearing from view until excavated
by charitable neighbors, he is apt to
feel annoyed and to revile the whole
woodchuck tribe with discrimination.
1t is largely on this account that
bounties for killing the creatures have
been offered in New Hampshire and
other States, as much as ten cents for
each tail being paid. Hunters will
not kill them, for the fur is worthless
and the flesh by no means palatable.
1t is not true that in certain parts of
the country farmers have found it
necessary to shovel paths through
groundhogs in over to reach their
barns.
Save in the way Just mentioned, the
woodchuck does little or no harm to
anybody He is strictly vegetarian,
feeding mostly on clover and grass.
Rarely does he enter the garden, pre-
ferring the open meadows and rocky
hillsides. The first rains that fall
copiously after haying is over cause
the fresh green grass to spring up
anew. This second crop in many
places consists largely of red clover,
which the grounding regards as a most
delightful delicacy. 1t eats 80 much
during the latter part of August and
the first half of the following month
that it becomes exceedingly fat and
inert. About September 80 or n little
later it goes into winter quarters, and
it does not come out again to stay un-
til the middle of March.
This creature is the most remarkable
existing example of alternating
mammal 1t lays up no store of pro
visions as the squirrel does. Its food
is of such n nature that it does not
keep, and so the grounding must
sleep to save itself from starving. 1t
disappears with astonishing precision
within n few days Of the autumnal
equinox ard remains underground un.
til about the time when the sun cuts
the plane of the equator at the vernal
equinox. Often the weather is very
warm when it retires, and it will come
out in March when SNOW is on the
ground making long journeys to find
pluces where patches of the coveted
green grass has been laid bare by thaw.
At the end of the winter the animal is
thin and doubtless feels rather seedy,
having lived on its own tissues and
without subsistence for SO long time.
During the term of Information
physical waste is reduced TO n very
low point, the hearts action slacken-
ing and the breathing becoming SO
slight that it can only be detected by
delicate instruments. Even when
kept in warm house through the
cold season tame grounding becomes
torpid at the usual date and remains
So until the hereditary habit has been
carried to the customary term. In
this latitude the Information of the
animal is not 50 complete as farther
north, and fow hundred miles far
ther south il 10 interrupted by periods
of wakefulness, during which the
woodchuck goes abroad and gets its
meals The practice OF hibernating
is merely device of nature for en-
abling the animal TO get along without
food at times when th0re is no food to
be had Otherwise il would perish
and the species would become extinct,
No use for the grounding worth
mentioning has ever been discovered.
1t il otherwise with smother queer
mammal the porcupine. Porcupines
have been used as fuel, for which pur-
pose they are said 10 be superior to
wood. Some time ago at tho Wilnot
mino IN Minnesota the porcupines
came to be regarded as such nui-
sancc, being very numerous, that one
day the foreman threw couple OF
dead ones i4to the fireplace of the
steam drill. TO his surprise the steam
ana up 10 eighty poUads in a short
time From that time ON the miners
were instructed 10 kill aad bring in
every Eorcupinc tboy could catch FOR