THE SPERMOPH1LES. 



93 



their large cheek-pouches. The females are very prolific, producing from four to eight young at 

 a birth, and in some cases even as many as ten have been found. The commonest and most 

 widely distributed of the North American species is the STRIPED SPERMOPHILE, or GOPHER (Spernio- 

 philus tredecimlineatus), a pretty little creature of from six to eight inches long, usually of a 



BURROWS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. 



chestnut brown colour with seven yellowish-white lines running along the back and between these 

 six rows of small squarish spots of the same colour. This species extends its range from the Red River 

 in Canada southwards as far as Texas, and is common on the prairies east of the Mississippi. This 

 and some other species of the genus are said to be very carnivorous in their habits, preying upon small 

 birds and mammals ; and the Gopher was even described as feeding upon the flesh of Bisons, which it 

 found lying dead on the prairies. The other American species are more local in their distribution ; four 

 of them occur in Mexico, and one of these is only known from that country. Of the Old World species 

 the best known is the SISEL, or SUSLIK (Spermophilus citillus), which is abundant in Central and 

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