MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 167 



fades out anteriorly, and on the head there is only pure black 

 and white, mingled to form a clear grey, as also on the sides of 

 the head. There is a conspicuous white ring about the eye, 

 which is separated from the black of the lids by an inconspicu- 

 ous yellowish line; a little yellowish too is found on the ears. 

 The end of the nose is buffy. The sides of the body are lighter 

 than the back, and the black is most conspicuous upon the 

 sides of the hip and thigh. The outside of the fore leg is yel- 

 lowish. The yellowish of the back extends some distance upon 

 the tail, which, however, has a prevailingly whitish color, the 

 hairs being yellowish white at the base, black medianly and 

 for a considerable distance near the end pure white. The under 

 parts, inside of legs and part of cheeks are white. Claws 

 blackish, teeth white, iris dark brown. The pelage is stiff and 

 nearly destitute of under fur, that of the tail being distichous 

 and abundant, often nearly as full as in the gray squirrel, which 

 this species not a little resembles. There are well developed 

 cheek-pouches provided with special muscles. Six pairs of 

 teats are present. The ears in this species are very small. 



This graceful animal was at one time fairly abundant through- 

 out the southern part of Minnesota, but is being rapidly extermin- 

 ated by civilization. The natural home is about the edges of 

 copses and it is not unusual for the animal to take refuge in a low 

 tree or close thicket rather than its burrow. Being so much 

 more conspicuous and less fossorial it is less fitted to hold its 

 own than the striped gopher. It is still abundant about Big 

 Stone lake, where it will approach the traveler's tent fearlessly 

 and may be taken by the hand if desired. During the summer 

 it feeds upon wild fruits, sue.- as strawberries, but has well- 

 marked carniverous propensities During a few days' encamp- 

 ment on Lake Traverse several of these animals became so 

 domestic as to partake freely of fish from our taible so long as 

 no suspiciously hasty motions were executed by the human 

 participants. The following are typical measurements for this 

 region : 



No. 86. (Female) Head and body, 9. 75; tail to end of vertebrae, 

 5.50; to end of hairs, 6.70; nose to eye, 95; nose toear, 1.80; 

 hight of ear, 0.50; fore foot, .1.20; hind foot, 2.10; upper in- 

 cisors, 0.25; lower incisors, 0.41. 



In his monograph of the squirrels, Mr. Allen mentions that 

 the gray gopher, Spermophilus franklini, was introduced in 

 Tuckerton, New Jersey, in 1867; where it has gone on multiply- 



