CHAPTER XII. 



HOW TO TllAP THE POCKET GOPHER. 



The pocket gopher is a destructive little animal. He 

 digs roads under the surface of the ground, leading in 

 different directions, wherever he is likely to find food. 

 He will not permit this pathway to be open to the light, 

 except while it is necessary in throv^^ing out his dirt. His 

 manner of doing this is very curious. He is provided 

 with two pockets, one on each side of his head, which he 

 fills with dirt, and then comes to the surface, and with a 

 dexterous movement discharges his load, scattering it for a 

 distance of ten or twelve inches. When this dirt begins to 

 foiTQ a heap around his hole, he roots it away with his 

 nose after each discharge ; and when it is too far from the 

 place where he is burrowing to fetch the dirt out at this 

 hole, he closes it up tight, and at a distance of ten feet 

 or so, proceeds to make another, and so on through the 

 field, eating off the roots as he goes. He appears to know 

 where to steer, and he can burrow straight for a turnip 

 patch or a stack of corn or wheat. 



After many experiments, I learned to trap him. I set 



my trap in the mouth of the hole, and he would bring dirt 



and cover it up while stopping the hole, which he never 

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