496 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Bisulphide of carbon is also successfully used in killing gophers, 

 while the ground is wet, using an injector which is furnished with the 

 poison to force the vapor through the long burrows. 



Trapping Gophers. Some are very successful in using gopher 

 traps, of which there are several styles sold. Gophers come to the sur- 

 face in the night, and generally close their holes soon after daybreak. 

 They frequently emerge again about noon, and a third time late in the 

 afternoon. It is best to set the trap in an open hole ; still the holes may 

 be opened if the dirt is still fresh, with a good prospect of the gopher's 

 return. Therefore, the trapper may make his rounds three times a day, 

 as above indicated. Care should be exercised in preparing the hole for 

 the insertion of the trap, a straight hole for a distance of at least ten 

 inches, with no lateral branches, otherwise the gopher in pushing out 

 the dirt will likely enough thrust the trap to one side, cover it up, or 

 spring it without being exposed to its grasp. The trapper should be 

 supplied with at least two varieties of traps one for the larger gophers, 

 and the other for the smaller ones. The common iron gopher trap, 

 which springs downward, is excellent for the former, and the small 

 wire trap, which springs upward, is generally successful with the latter. 

 The size of the hole is indicative of the size of the gopher. Either trap 

 should be inserted nearly its full length into the hole, pressed down 

 firmly, and a little dirt piled at the outer end to prevent its being easily 

 pushed out. After the trap is set, it is well to cover the opening with 

 some grass or weeds. Sometimes the holes require a little enlarging, 

 but care should be taken to make the fit as close as possible, that the 

 body of the gopher may be kept near the center, and thus more exposed 

 to the prongs of the trap. In the fourth place, the trapper should have 

 a small spade and a little gouge-shaped instrument for trimming the 

 hole. 



Gopher Pitfalls. If gophers are abundant, large numbers can 

 be captured in this way : Dig a trench around the orchard or vineyard 

 about the width of a spade and from fourteen to sixteen inches deep. 

 In the bottom of the ditches, about a hundred feet apart, sink five- 

 gallon oil cans, leaving the tops level with the ditch bottom. The 

 gophers migrate in the night, and in attempting to come into the in- 

 closure will fall into the ditch and then run along the bottom until they 

 drop into the cans. Of course the ditch must not be wider than the 

 cans. As many as fifteen live gophers have been found in one can. 

 The cats soon learn to help themselves out of the cans. The ditch must 

 be kept clean, and if any roads cross the tract, set up a board at night, 

 to compel the gophers to tumble in the ditch. This ditch should be con- 

 structed about the first of June, when the oustide feed begins to dry 

 up, and the pests rush for the cultivated ground. With such protection 

 from the outside, and the use of poison and traps inside, the trees and 

 vines can be saved. 



DESTRUCTIVE BIRDS 



Fruit growers generally appreciate the value of insectivorous birds, 

 but there are feathered pests which do such ruinous work in disbudding 

 the trees in spring-time, and in destroying ripe fruit that protective 



