Sappers and Miners 



the end of this tunnel a large chamber is built and in it 

 the nest of dried grass is constructed. 



A second passage leads from the nursery to the larder, 

 which the pocket-gopher always keeps well rilled. Powerful 

 as are the fore-feet of this little animal, its teeth are also 

 brought into play when it is mining ; they are made to 

 serve as a pick to loosen the earth. " At the same time 

 the fore-feet are kept in active operation, both in digging 

 and in pressing the earth back under the body, and the 

 hind feet are also used in moving it still further back- 

 wards. When a sufficient quantity has accumulated 

 behind the animal, he, immediately turns in the burrow, 

 and by bringing the wrists together under the chin with 

 the palm of the hands held vertically, forces himself along 

 by the hind feet, pushing the earth out in front. When 

 an opening in the tunnel is re.ached, the earth is discharged 

 through it, forming a little hillock." 



Concerning the use of the cheek pouches Dr Merriam 

 thus describes the behaviour of a captive pocket-gopher : 

 " After satisfying the immediate demands of hunger, it was 

 his practice to fill one or both cheek pouches. His motions 

 were so swift that it was exceedingly difficult to follow them 

 with sufficient exactness to see just how the operation 

 was performed. If a potato was given him, or a piece too 

 large to go into the pouch, he invariably grasped it between 

 the fore-paws, and proceeded to pry off a small piece with 

 the large lower incisors. He would then raise himself 

 slightly on his hind legs and hold the fragment between 

 his fore-paws while eating, for he usually ate a certain 

 quantity before putting any into the pouches. 



" As a rule one pouch is filled at a time, though not 

 always, and the hand of the same side was used to push 

 the food in. The usual course is as follows : A piece of 

 potato, root, or other food is seized between the incisor 

 teeth, and immediately transferred to the fore-paws. The 

 piece is then rapidly passed across the face with a sort of 

 wiping motion, which forces it into the open mouth of the 



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