Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-08
Grubby Gopher at Home.
When needs are few, pray be content
With all that Is by Fortune sent.
-1ruhby CODheY

Grubby Gopher is rather a solitary
small person save at certain times.
| Most Of the time he seems to prefer
ms own company to the company OF
| any one else. And because Of his way
OF living his neighbors know very little
about him. He Is busy person, q hard
worker.
only the idle have time to be I'M
happy" says Grubby q saying in which
there Is more than a grain of truth.
So when he isn't eating or sleeping
Grubby Is working. In this respect he
Is Like Miner the Mole. However, the
latter, who lives on worms and insects
IN the ground, and has a tremendous
appetite, has to keep at work most Of
the time in order to get enough to eat.
Grubby Gopher Is a vegetarian. That
means that he lives on roots, stems and
seeds of various plants, and, of course,
1t Is great deal easier to get a supply
Of these things than 1t is to get a sup
ply Of worms and insects. So Grubby
doesn't need to work so hard driving
tunnels just below the surface. I sus-
pect he does 1t because he enjoys doing
1t. You can find no greater enjoyment
than IN doing work you enjoy doing
1t is fun.
When Grubby left the two young
Prairie-dogs he went straight down
into one of his tunnels and hurried
along this until he came to a branch.
He turned into this and presently came
to a neat and clean little storeroom.
Here he at once emptied his pockets,
the big outside cheek pockets, by press
ing the back Of each pocket with a
paw and so forcing the food out. He
ate a little and then hurried to the
aYd nf tho main fyInno1 6a ~
once started In to work.
Now when Miner the Mole Is boring
a tunnel he uses his sharp nose to
loosen the earth. Then he pushes one
Of his big, broad paws armed with
sharp claws ahead past his nose and
sweeps the loose earth behind him. He
does the same thing with the other
paw, so he sort Of swims through the
earth, and when he Is near the surface
pushes the grass and top soil up so as
to make a ridge along the ground. In
this way he doesn't has so much earth
to get rid Of. 1t Is only when he is too
deep to push the earth up that he has
to get rid of the loose earth by making
an opening and pushing 1t out on the
surface.
Grubby Gopher works q little deeper
and does not make the surface ridges.
So he has to get rid of the earth from
his tunnels by pushing 1t out to the
surface every little while. He hasn't
sharp nose for boring, so he uses his
big. strong, long claws to dig away the
earth, and this he throws under him
between his hind feet, which are widely
spread for this purpose, and to brace
him for his work. This loose earth is
kicked back by the hind feet. When
there is enough of 1t behind him Grub
by turns around and with his paws and
his blunt head pushes it back to the
nearest dump. There he opens a hole
to the surface and pushes the fresh
supply of earth out, closing the open
ing when he is through. 1t is In this
way that the mounds are made. They
are really dumps and nothing else.
When the tunnel has been carried for
ward SO far that it Is inconvenient and
a waste of time to push the earth back
to the last dump a new opening Is
made and another dump started
Now as Grubby Gopher worked he
presently came to some roots that were
much to his liking. He dug the earth
away from around these and then, hav-
ing pushed this earth out on the near
est dump, he returned and began cut