Dogs in their settlements. Another inhabitant of the burrows is the Rattlesnake; and some of the earlier observers thought that the Prairie Dogs, Owls, Rattlesnakes, and some other animals, such as Horned Frogs and an occasional Tortoise, occupied the same burrow, and lived there on the most amicable footing. Unfortunately, this paradisaic picture is an imaginary one. It is true that the Rattlesnake does take up his abode in the Prairie Dog’s burrows, but he either selects a deserted one, or dispossesses, and perhaps devours, the rightful owner; and his object in his residence among the lively little Marmots is anything rather than peaceful, as they constitute his favourite food. The little Burrowing Owl has also been said by some writers to feed on the young Prairie Dogs; but this is not proved, and the food of the Owls is known to consist chiefly of Grasshoppers and Crayfish. According to the latitude in which they live, the Prairie Dogs seem to be more or less subject to torpidity during the winter. The true MARMOTS (_Arctomys_) are nearly related to the Prairie Dogs. They are stout in the body, have a short tail, and a rudimentary thumb with a flat nail; and are either entirely destitute of cheek-pouches or have mere indications of those organs. The rows of molar teeth are placed nearly parallel to each other in each jaw. The skull is broad and flat above, with a depression between the orbits; and the post-orbital processes are larger than in any other Sciuridæ. The Marmots are confined to the Northern hemisphere, but over it they are widely distributed in both continents. Of the Old World species, the best known are the BOBAC (_Arctomys Bobac_) and the ALPINE MARMOT (_A. Marmota_), of which the former extends from the south of Poland and Galicia over the whole of Southern Russia and Siberia to the Amoor region and Kamstchatka, whilst it is found in elevated situations as far southward as Cashmere, Tibet, and the Himalayas; and the latter inhabits only the higher regions of the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians. In North America the common species is the WOODCHUCK (_Arctomys Monax_), the distribution of which is from the Carolinas northward to Hudson’s Bay, and westward from the Atlantic coast to Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota; the Rocky Mountain region is inhabited by a distinct species (_A. flaviventer_); and a third very large species, the HOARY MARMOT, or WHISTLER (_A. pruinosus_), which measures from twenty-three to twenty-five inches in length of body, appears to be most abundant in the north-western parts of the continent, and is said to range northward as far as the Arctic Circle. The Marmots live usually in large societies in extensive burrows, which they form underground; and in some localities, as on the great plains of Russia and Siberia, their dwelling-places are described as producing a remarkable effect, owing to the multitude of little hillocks formed by the earth thrown out of their burrows. During the summer they are in