Twenty- SECOND Annual Meeiing. 



31 



Gopher-hills in meadows are considered a great nuisance by those who run mow- 

 ers, but no complaints have been made of their injuring the meadows other than 

 that a little grass or grain is covered up. On the other hand, it is claimed by some 

 that much good is done in old fields by gophers, as they bring up the rich subsoil. 



Rev. A. Clark, who lives one-half mile east of Nickerson, reports that gophers 

 were very thick on his farm. They killed a large number of apple and cherry trees. 

 Many of the trees were four and five years old, three inches or more in diam- 

 eter, and ten feet high. One acre of hedge plants was entirely destroyed. As 

 many as twelve gophers were seen at work at one time on less than a half -acre of 

 hedge plants. He finally succeeded in freeing himself of the gophers by using 

 strychnine in potatoes. He dug down and dropped poisoned potatoes in the 

 gopher-burrows. Potatoes should be used about the size of quail's eggs or hulled 

 walnuts; otherwise the gophers throw them out with the dirt without noticing them^ 

 The theory, as reported, is, that if the potato is too small the gopher carrries it out 

 in his pocket or pushes it out with the loose dirt; but if the potato is larger, he will 

 take it in his mouth to remove it, and thus discover the juicy and luscious bait. 



THE MODE OF EESPIRATION OF THE COMMON SALAMANDEE. 



{Ambly stoma mavortium.) 

 BY PROF. F. H. SNOW, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS. 



In November, 1888, Mrs. F. W. Apitz presented to my biological laboratory a 

 living specimen of the common yellow-spotted salamander {Aniblystoma mavortium). 

 It was kept on my table in a glass jar, and during the following winter and spring 

 afforded an interesting subject for investigation. My attention was soon attracted 

 to the fact that although in the final air-breathing stage of development, with fully- 

 formed lungs and entirely deprived of external gills, this animal passed a large 

 portion of the time in the bottom of the jar, coming to the surface of the water at 



intervals of about five minutes, apjjarently for the purpose of taking in air. Sub- 

 sequent examination indicated that this coming to the surface was really for the 

 purpose of ejecting inspired air abstracted from the water. Not understanding 

 how a single gulp of air could suffice for aeration for periods of such long duration, 

 I observed more closely, and soon detected a current of water continuously entering 

 each nostril. This double current of inward-moving water was made evident by 

 the solid impurities of the water, which had become roiled. These were being con- 

 stantly drawn into the mouth through the nostrils, with the water. I had also no- 

 ticed that the salamander opened its mouth at intervals of from seven to eight 

 seconds, and at first supposed that this indicated that the animal was becoming 



