A GOPHER GUN 



419 



Frequently a girdled tree will produce leaves the first summer 

 after the injury, but it will die before the next season, if completely 

 girdled. 



Pocket Gophers. Pouched rats or pocket gophers are serious 

 pests in some parts of the country. These animals (Fig. 404) are 

 provided with a pocket-like pouch on each side of the head (Fig. 

 405). The pouches are outside, independent of the mouth. The 

 presence of mounds of earth in garden, orchard, or lawn indicates 

 the presence of either a pocket gopher or a mole. The burrow of 

 the gopher is sometimes left open temporarily, which is not the 

 case with that of the mole. 



The first litter of the pocket gopher is born in the spring, late 

 in April or in May, in northern states. The litters average one or 



JfOf 



FiO. 404. A pocket gopher. (After Merriam, U. S. D. A.) 



two. There is probably only one litter a year. Evidently only 

 one pocket gopher occupies a burrow, except during the breeding 

 season. Pocket gophers are largely nocturnal in their habits above 

 ground. 



Hawks and owls, foxes, weasels, and the common house cat 

 prey upon pocket gophers. It is probable that the larger snakes 

 also devour them. 



Trapping Gophers. A small steel trap may be set in the bur- 

 row by digging down a foot or more behind a newly made mound. 

 The top of the trap should be on a level with the floor of the 

 burrow and nearly covered with fine earth. The opening should 

 be covered in order to exclude the light. 



A Gopher Gun (Fig. 406) has been used by the writer against 



