HOME SUPPLIES. 



207 



to carry him home. It is not often that the same hole 

 shelters two gophers ; but, that it is sometimes the case, 

 we once proved in rather an amusing manner. 



We sallied forth, as was our daily custom, to visit our 

 snares, and on approaching one of them observed a round 

 object projecting part way from the hole. Eagerly we 

 pounced upon that unlucky gopher, wondering why it had 

 not gone in as far as the cord would permit— when, lo ! 

 there was no cord attached to it at all ! We dropped it in 

 the basket and looked to see what had become of the cord. 

 We saw it lying inside the hole ; but it was quite heavily 

 weighted. There was a captive to the noose after all ; and 

 this one, having retreated as far as it could, had blocked 

 up the way for another following after it. 



Deserted burrows are easily known by the pine-straw 

 and trash that drift down into the hole, while one in use 

 is smooth and the soil fresh and clear with distinct marks 

 of shell and feet. 



Gopher stew and gopher soup, especially, are highly es- 

 teemed, and so closely resemble beef in texture and taste 

 that one may be easily deceived into believing it to be the 



latter. 



There is another point in this snaring of the gopher tur- 

 tle that should not be overlooked. It is an important 

 object to the settler to rid his land of them, for they inva- 

 riably choose the highest spots, just wdiere crops are grown, 

 to make their home ; and hence the interests of the two 

 are certain to clash. 



The settler desires to raise cow-peas, for instance, and so 

 does the gopher ; but the latter spells his kind of '' raising" 

 cow-peas thus, "razing" and thoroughly he succeeds, for 

 he is passionately fond of them. We have seen a quarter 

 of an acre of cow-peas cut down to the ground by a few 

 gophers in less than a week, and but for the prompt use 



