Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-10-01
THE POCKET GOPHER.
An Animal That Digs Both Sum-
NOR and Winter.
1t Lives the Life of n Hermit Excepting
One Month in the Sear-Some Informa-
tion About an Interelting
Little Animal.

an abode only one-half as long as the
dwelling which is often constructed by
IA very little animal-the creature called
the pocket gopher" in the west and the
"salamander" in the south. A report
OH this little creature recently issued
by the United States department of ag-
riculture declares that the burrows
dug by a single animal would, if
Strengthened out, in many cases meas
ure more than Il mile.
The pocket gopher digs as long as
he lives. extending his burrows from
year to year. He digs all summer and
generally all winter, for he does not nj
bernate. lie 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 a load of
earth from a freshly opened hole.
But he vanishes below the earth so
quickly that he can hardly be said to
be seen at all.
Except for one month of the year,
the mating season, all pocket gophers
live an entirely solitary life, and, like
most other hermits. they are of an eX-
tremely surly disposition. They will
fight viciously on all occasions, auo
they have remarkably formidable
weapon in their long, sharp front teeth.
They are of all living creatures the
ones most perfectly adapted to digging
in the ground. They are short-leggcd,
thick set, almost peckless, without visi-
BILE ears, and with extremely small eyes.
In tunneling in the earth they use
their long and powerful front teeth as
a pick to loosen 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
brstles 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 lind feet take it and push it fur
ther 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.
ne VIII silONt hNtit ue id l'iN'g ''''
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 III pursuit OF
roots of all kinds-grass roots, tree
roots. potatoes and other tubers. Ila
is immensely destructive to crops, and
one gopher has been known to gnaw
away the roots of a tree so completely
that the tree will topple over in asligh:
wind and fall fiat.
This is not hard to understand after
we have been assured, as the biologists
of the department of agriculture assure
us, that pocket gopher can make POS
complete strokes with his teeth in y
minute. Its jaws are so arranged that
3S distinct single cuts are made by the
forward stroke of the jaw and 2S by the
backward stroke. Thus, it will be
seen. the little creatures jaws may
make grand total of 13,200 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 arc
offered for it's determination. One Iowa
county paid $4,000 in such bounties in
single year without an appreciable re.
duction of the animals ravages. This
represented q destruction of 100000 go
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 a 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
plow.
If. Ey inadvertence, the pocket go,
pher leaves 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 chiet
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-
structive the weasel is condemned by
the farmers and killed mereilessly,
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 grqund-Youthf
Companion,
Irtp