Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-03-09


1t must be acknowledged that the
farming industry In various sections
Of the country IL not flourishing az It
should. In many States farming no
longer pays and agriculture languislies.
Many reasons have been assigned for
this, such as the development Of the
country. the Introduction Of new indus.
tries. the improvements In transporta.
tons and freight facilities and come.
titiOn Of foreign countries. hut above
and beyond all these causes. we be-
lieve. must be placed the conserva tis,.,
of the farmer. who fails to make use Of
the knowledge which the Department
Of Agriculture deals out to him by the
cartload. We acknowledge the receipt
from the Department Of Agriculture Of
u very valuable work Oh "Gophcrs, e
handsome uncut octave. 800 pages. II.
Illustrated. from the able pen of Profcs.
sor q. Hart Merriam. Now. almost
every farmer knows something. In u
general way. about gophcrs. but how
much 1t would tighten his farm labors
II he knew the subject thoroughly.
Why be content to call gopher 20.
pher when beneiiccnt government
has hired a dozen experts ana expended
thousands Of dollars to teach the farmer
that what he In his ignorance has called
a gopher In reality IL the geOmys per.
sonatus fallnX? Professor Merriam has
prepared a set Of elaborate cOlOrcd
maps and plntes showing the cOnstruc.
ton Of the skull Of the geomys. These
plates show the vOmer and meseth.
mold, the anterior palatine foramen,
incisive foramen. meatus auditorius
internus. foccular fossa, upper part Of
sphenoldal assure. allsphenOid, bnsioc.
cipital, basisphcnoid, cOndyle Of exocci.
pital. frontal, hamular process of ptery-
gold. interparletal. mcsetlimOid plate,
mnxillo.turbinal, maxilla, nasal, naso.
turbinal. lower part Of periotic capsule.
palatine. premaxilla, presphenoid,
ptcrygoid. supraoccipital. squam0sal,
tympanIc bulln. vomrine sheath Of
ntaXllla. ana first endOturbina. No
farmer who studies these plates care.
fully can help but be n better man.
hut the body Of the work IL equally
valuable. In language 80 simple that
any farmer boy ought to understand II
the distinguishing marks and charac.
terisfics OF the gopher are pointed out
ana classified. II the directions of
I'rof. Merriam arc followed It IL very
easy to tell a gopher from COW or
horse. The Professor explains how to
Identify the gopher Enthusiastically. He
says: "rhe single bones forming the
basicranial axis are early ankylosed
with the adjoining paired bones Of the
s'rlne scgments. Thus the presphe.
mold Is inseparably united with the or.
bitosphenoids; the basisphenoid with
the alisphenoids ana pterygoids; the
casioccipital with the exOccipitals. The
union OF the lateral with the median
elements OF the sphenOidal segments
occurs before birth; that Of the 0ccip. |
ltal segment later. The exOcipitals
Rre always distinct In early life, but
soon become ankylosed with the basiOc.
cipital below and the supraoccipital |
above. The latter. except In few
species. Is inseparable from the inter.
parietal. The parietals In adult life
arc commonly ankylosed with the
squamOsals." We believe this ought
% prove entirely satisfactory. No
farmer can consistently ask for more
gopher knowledge than is contained In
his treatise. Henceforth II he can't
ell n gopher when he sees one 1t will be
lis own fault.