The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-07-10
THE POCKET GOPHER.
An Animal That Digs Both Sum-
mer and Winter.
It Lives the Life of q Hermit Excepting
One Month In the Year-SOme 1nforma-
ton About an Interesting
Little Animal

A human being who should possess
dwelling half a mile long would be con
sidered very important parsonage by
his fellows; but he would have, at that,
an abode only one-half as long as the
dwelling which is often constructed by
n very little animal-the creature called
the pocket gopher" in the west and the
"salamander'' in the south. A report
on this little creature recently issued
by the United States department of ag-
riculture declares that the burrows
dug bv a single animal would. if
STRENGTHENED out, in many cases meas
ure more than mile.
The pocket gopher digs as long as
he lives, extending his burrows from
year to year. He digs all summer ana
generally all winter, for he does not nj
bernate. He is probably the completest
mechanical digger in existence. All
his life is passed under ground, except
when, for an instant. on rare occasions,
he emergesinto the air to push load OF
earth from a freshly ogened hole.
Fut lie var;shes below the earth so
quickly that he can hardly be said to
be seen Al all.
Except for one month OF the year,
the mating season. al pocket gophers
live an entirely solitary l:fe. and, like
most otfvr kerinits. they are OF an eN-
trcmely surly disposition. They will
fight v:c.ously on al c"e"r.ons, ana
they i'avr rerla"' ablJ formidable
wea non In t:,eir lorr, sharp front teeth.
They are Of ell i:t:rg creatures fhe
-'.,-.- iG 10 III o. 80
in the ground. Thy are short-leggcd,
thick -. almost rec.:.ess. without Visi-
BILE ears. &r.! ,y;:h e.::rauei Is small eyes.
In turrrl;rg III the earth they use
their lorq and powerful front teeth as
a pick to icose the ground. At the
same time the forefeet, which are
armed with long curved claws-the
side OF the toes being lined in turn with
bristles which prevent the dirt from
passing between them-are hard at
work both in digging and in pressing
the dirt back under the body. Then
the hind feet take it and push it fur
Their back.
When earth enough has been accu-
mulated behind the gopher he whirls
about, and by bringing his wrists to-
gether under the chin, with the palms
of the hands held vertically, he pushes
the earth out in front.
He will move backward as rapidly as
forward, and can push dirt either way.
His movement in digging often seems
as rapid and automatic as that of
shuttle.
Except in times of deep frost the
burrows are seldom more than foot
underground, and generally about six
Inches. The gopher is i'll pursuit of
roots of all kinds-grass roots, tree
roots, potatoes and other tubers. He
Is immensely destructive to crops, and
one gopher has been known to gnaw
away the roots of tree so completely
that the tree will topple over in slight
wind and fall fat.
This is not hard to understand after
we have been assured, as the biologists
of the department of agriculture assure
us, that a pocket gopher can make 200
complete strokes with his teeth in a
minute. It's jaws are so arranged that
80 distinct single cuts are made by the
forward stroke of the jaw and % by the
backward stroke. Thus, it will be
seen, the little creatures jaws may
make grand total of 1920 cuts min
ute when in active operation.
The pocket gopher-the name is ap-
piled to several species of the Geomys
tribe-is, indeed so destructive that in
many parts of the west bounties are
offered for its determination. One Iowa
county paid $4,000 in such bounties in
single year without an appreciable re-
duction of the animals ravages. This
represented a destruction of 100000 60
piers.
At intervals, seldom more than few
rods apart, the pocket gopher comes
to the surface to throw up little hill
of dirt, but the opening which he makes
is closed by being packed so full of
dirt that no trace of the tunnel is visible
except the little mound.
The gopher goes on digging in win
ter as well as in the summer, but if the
frost prevents him from coming to the
surface he uses cross section of his
tunnel into which to pack the earth
which he has dug for his new excava-
tions. These packed cylinders of earth
are often turned up by the farmers
pillow.
pher leaves an exit open the "bull
snake" is very apt to enter, and if he
does, the gopher's death is certain.
He is covered with slime by the serpent
and swallowed.
But the weasel is the gopher's chief
enemy. The largest weasel enters the
burrow and travels it swiftly. and weas-
els have cleared a whole section of
country of pocket gophers when boun-
ties have failed.
But it is said that even in regions
where the pocket gopher is most de-
structivS the weasel is condemned by
the farmers and killed mercilessly
This is one instance of many of the
slowness of mankind to recognize
friends in the animal world.
Owls and hawks also succeed in cap
turing many gophers, in spite of the
merely instantaneous appearance of the
creatures above the ground.-Youth's
Companion.
Li- - COSTUMES.
Question kEafeti IA of SAecial lutAP0aA