SQUIRREL FAMILY 



i8i 



of the ground, especially in autumn. It is found 

 as far north as Saskatchewan, and is reported 

 to be far more destructive to the grain fields 

 than its southern relative. Tliis species has a 

 short, thin body, squat legs, and a short thin 

 tail. It looks very much like an underfed 

 Prairie Dog. 



The Spotted Spennophile is a little Ground 

 Squirrel which prefers the deserts or the dry 

 levels of the plains and the eastern border of the 



has very similar habits to Richardson's Sper- 

 niophile, and like it is interesting in being a con- 

 necting link. But while the latter seems nearest 

 related to the Marmots, Franklin's Spermophile 

 strongly resembles the Tree Squirrel. In many 

 localities it called the " Gray Ground Squirrel." 

 When they become numerous near farms they 

 are troublesome, venturing boldly into the barns 

 and granaries ; but the harm they do is offset 

 to some extent bv the insects thev devour. 



Photograph by J. M. Johnson, copyright by Outing 



" PICKET-PIN GOPHER " 



A name bestowed upon this gray Spermophile, in the Middle West, from the fact that a row of them will 

 stand so erect and still as easily to be mistaken for picket-pins 



Rocky r.Iountain region. In the desert the 

 mouths of its burrows often open under yuccas. 

 Shy, quiet, small and prettily marked, these ani- 

 mals are in strong contrast to the big, noisy plain- 

 colored species, such as the Bushy-tailed Spermo- 

 phile. Under favorable conditions they increase 

 almost as rapidly as rabbits. There may be as 

 many as eight young to a litter. 



Franklin's Spermophile is one of the more 

 common varieties. It is found in the middle 

 West, from Indiana to Missouri and Nebraska, 

 and extending north into Canada. This animal 



In the Department of Agriculture, twenty- 

 nine stomachs were examined with the following 

 result : Animal matter present, 30.3 per cent. ; 

 vegetable, 68.5 per cent.; and undetermined, \.2 

 per cent. Out of the whole twenty-nine stomachs 

 examined, twenty-six contained the remains of 

 insects. Thus the grain consumed by this ani- 

 mal is at least partially paid for by the destruc- 

 tion of insects that prey upon crops ; but farmers 

 everywhere are diligent in destroying it with 

 poisoned wheat placed in its burrow. 



J. M. Johnson. 



