THE CANADA POUCHED RAT. 19 



a slightly ascending direction. Two or three supplementary 

 galleries are driven from the principal burrow, and by means ol 

 them the animal is able to escape almost any foe. The stoat, 

 however, cannot be deceived by this complicated arrangement 

 of tunnels, but winds its lithe body through all the deviating 

 passages, and kills every Chipping Squirrel which it finds. One 

 of these bloodthirsty weasels has been known to enter the 

 burrow of a Chipping Squirrel, and in a short time to leave it, 

 having in the space of a very few minutes killed six victims, a 

 mother and five young, wliose lifeless bodies were found in the 

 nursery when the burrow was opened. 



The nest is made of dried leaves of various kinds, and in it 

 the mother and her offspring can rest in security from all ordi- 

 nary foes. Owing to the complexity of the burrow, no little 

 skill is required to trace its various windings, and much exer- 

 tion is needed before they can all be laid bare. 



Our next example is the Canada Pouched Rat (^Pseitdos- 

 toma bursarius), sometimes called the Gopher, or Mulo. 



This remarkable animal drives burrows of very great extent, 

 and whenever it gains admission into a garden, it works much 

 damage to the roots of the plants. Every root that crosses the 

 tunnel the Pouched Rat will eat ; and not only herbs and 

 flowers, but even fruit trees of many years' growth have been 

 killed by this destructive animal. In such cases, the extremity 

 of the burrow is always to be found among the roots of some 

 tree, which act at the same time as a defence and a larder ; for 

 the Rat hides itself under their protection, and eats away their 

 tender shoots. 



Like the mole, the Gopher throws up little hillocks at irre- 

 gular intervals, sometimes twenty or thirty feet apart, and 

 sometimes crowded closely together. The nest of the Gopher is 

 made in a burrow constructed expressly for the purpose, and is 

 placed in a small globular chamber about eight inches in 

 diameter. The bed on which the mother and her young repose 

 is made of dried herbage and fur plucked from the body. 

 This chamber is the point from which a great number of pas- 



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