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FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



''^ jSpermopMle means seed lover, and these little beasts 

 eat seeds of every description, and are cannibals to boot. 

 I have merely a bowing acquaintance with them, but 

 the Chief of the Wise Animal ]\Ien at AVashino-ton 

 s'djs : ' Scarcely a seed or grain grows where they live 

 that is not eaten by them . . . wheat, oats, barley, 

 rye, corn, etc. . . . But their food is by no means 

 restricted to seeds, for they are fond of fruits, roots, 

 and insects . . . eat lizards, mice, or any kind of fresh 

 meat. ... If one of their own species is found dead, 

 it is promptly eaten, thus proving that they are canni- 

 bals. . . .' The}^ do eat harmful insects also, but not 

 enough to pay for the crops of corn and grain, which 

 they commence to devour as soon as the seed is planted. 

 And they keep on, with the ear in tlie milk and the ripe 



Striped Spermophile. 



