STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 123 



common in the mountains, is very rare in rauseiiras, and no California 

 specimen has yet been compared by naturalists with those of Texas or 

 Mexico. An interesting account of its habits might also be written by 

 some of those who have kept them tame in the place of cats. 



The opossum is often mentioned as a California animal, yet no natu- 

 ralist has ever recorded having seen one, or preserved SL specimen in this 

 State. Even a skull would be highly interesting for comparison with 

 the species of the Eastern States and of Mexico. 



Of the fish-eating cetaceans, (whales, porpoises, etc..) opportunities 

 often occur along the coast of obtaining very young s]^ecimens, which 

 may be preserved in alcohol. Drawings of old ones, made on a scale 

 from measurements, will aid much in determining how many species 

 inhabit our shores, this order having yet been scarcely at all studied, 

 and our species being generally believed to diflFer essentially from those 

 of other seas. Farmers along the coast often cut up specimens that 

 come ashore, and might frequently obtain valuable information regard- 

 ing them. There are believed to be eight or ten species of this order 

 along our coast. 



Of insectivorous mammals, which are very beneficial to agriculture, 

 little is known, and some of them are destroyed by farmers under the 

 impression that they are injurious. The moles, which live entirely on 

 insects under ground, are oiten confounded with the gophers, which 

 destroy vegetation. A little attention to their habits of burrowing, and 

 examination of their teeth, will show the difference of food, and why 

 the}' should not be destroyed. A species with a star-like excrescence 

 on the end of the snout is believed to inhabit this State, but has not been 

 obtained by naturalists, and specimens in alcohol or skinned are much 

 wanted. 



The shrews resemble moles in form, but have small fore feet, larger 

 eyes, and a shorter but pointed nose. They are often confounded with 

 mice, but differ entirely in habits, and are usually smaller than the com- 

 mon house mouse. Two or more species have been found, and all speci- 

 mens from California are desirable. 



Bats, of which about fifteen species have been found, are the insect 

 eaters of the air. All specimens and observations on them will be useful. 



Of the rodents, or gnawers, which are the most destructive of any on 

 the farm, we have numerous species, ranging in size from the beaver to 

 the mouse. 



The Sewellel or "mammoth mole" of miners is allied to the beaver, 

 and inhabits meadows or river banks in the Sierra Nevada. Specimens 

 and notes on their habits will all.be useful, as very little is known about 

 them. 



The groundhogs or woodchucks of the mountains are almost as little 

 known, but differ consideraby from the species of the Atlantic States. 



Tlie species of ground squirrels inhabiting the plains of remote dis- 

 tricts, are also rare in collections, and little known. Three small species 

 are known to inhabit east of the Sierra Nevada. 



The fl^'ing squirrel, though said to be numerous in parts of the Sierra, 

 is scarcely known in collections. It is much larger than the Eastern 

 Sf)ecies, and this or another kind is also said to be found in the coast 

 ranges. 



The gophers of different districts and elevations are found to differ 

 considerably, but too little is known of them yet to determine how far 

 this is to be relied on to distinguish them as species. Five have been 

 described from this State, but specimens of all, especially from the bor- 



