208 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



of the noose aforesaid not a vine would have been left in 

 the acre in less than a month. 



Therefore, trap this ruthless destroyer wherever his 

 door-way is seen. If the family do not care to use him as 

 food, cook or chop the flesh and feed it to the chickens, 

 who will rejoice over the windfall, 



"Smite, slay, and spare not" the gopher, if you would 

 possess your cow-peas or vegetables in peace. His shell, 

 sand-papered, varnished and hung up by wires run through 

 holes bored in the edges, makes an excellent hanging-bas- 

 ket for trailing vines. 



"How much do gophers weigh?" do you ask. Some- 

 times as much as sixteen pounds ; but they average eight 

 pounds. 



