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The Pocket Gopher. 



CROPS DAMAGED. 



The economic status of the pocket gopher has changed in 

 the last few decades. There was a time when their work was 

 of real benefit to the future interests of agriculture. For un- 

 told centuries they have been mixing the soil of the prairies, 

 bringing up the subsoil to mellow, and covering up vegetation 

 to molder and add humus to the clays and sand. But now 

 that the virgin soil has been prepared for us we would gladly 

 dispense with their services, for their presence is now seri- 

 ously deterimental to our interests. 



View of a gopher-infested alfalfa field. 



Alfalfa. The damage to cultivated plants results not only 

 from the animal's eating roots or stems, but also from its habit 

 of throwing up numerous mounds of earth, which very often 

 cover considerable areas of the growing crops and obstruct 

 the harvesting of the remainder later. Indeed, it would 

 scarcely be worth while, in many instances, to make such 

 vigorous warfare on the gopher if the only issue at stake was 

 the kind or quantity of food he pilfered. This is especially 

 true in the case of alfalfa. No other one of the important 



