Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-02-03

The Weather and the Ground Hoe.
Yesterday was ground-hog-day. That re-
liable rodent was unable to see his
shadow when he came out OF his hiber-
mating hole to go to his breakfast. and
believers In him may. therefore. conclude
that we are going to have six-weeks'
season OF good weather.
How the grounding alias the wood
chuck alias chuck OF the ancient family
OF "Sciuridae." or marmot, ever came
to be looked upon as weather-prophet
we do not know. But he has been in that
business long time. and has established
n reputation second only TO that OF the
almanacs which undertake to foretell the
weather.
Down here in Virginia, and In the
South generally. we believe. he is known
by the name CT grounding. but In the
Northern and Western States he is called
chuck, or woodchuck. We are bound
to call him grounding. because we have
named the green woodpecker the wood
chuck. and We don't want to have rats
and birds mixed up in our animal nomen-
clature.
1t isn't every man you meet who has
had the luck of seeing grounding.
though on the "a OF February there are
many persons who watch for him. He is
from fifteen to eighteen inches long, of
very stout. heavy form, with brownish
and grayish tints above, and reddish
brown below. He feeds on vegetables OF
many kinds, burrows In the ground. and
hibernates in winter 1t is on the I'd OF
February that he is supposed to emerge
from his winter-quarters. and the popular
myth is that IL he sees his shadow on that
day he retires to his burrow for six weeks
longer, which implies that warm sun
shiny weather very early in the spring,
or in February. arousing him from his
torpidity, is likely TO be followed by a
cold or late season.
The grounding and his odorous CO.
laborer. the muskrat. were very-much-
talked-of animals in Virginia years ago.
The banks OF the James river and Ka-
nawha canal afforded them home which
delighted them greatly. 1t was their jolly
old custom once or twice a year. first at
one point and then at another, to bur-
row through the canal-banks and (un-
wittingly) make a passage for the water,
which would flow and flow and widen and
widen the breach until the entire stream
of the canal was turned into the river.
This very thing happened to the canal be-
tween the TredegarWorks and the old
pump-house.
The canal. for the most part, is in dsuse
now, but we suppose that the ground
hog and the muskrat still burrow into its
banks, though the Legislature takes no
notice of that fact, as 1t used 10 do when
1t was called upon to make appropriations
of public money to mend the ever-break-
ing also State-breaking) canal
We must say that with many Of our
people belief in ground-hog-d remains
unshaken-such is the tenacity Of tradi-
ton, such the ease with which one re-
ceives the faith transmitted to him by
his forefathers.
This has been a severe winter In Vir-
ginia, and we may we'll wish that the
grounding theory may prove correct. Not
for many years have we had so cold
January as that which has just passed,
and February comes upon US scowlingly.
However. the predictions of the Naval
Photographic Office are at variance with
the ground-hog's. and warn us that Feb
ruary will be bad month for transat-
lantlc travel. that there will be stormy
weather from Hatteras northward, ana
that there will be occasional northers In
the Gulf Of Mexico" etc.