THE SQUIRREL FAMILY 393 
lover” and is a fitting name as it has reference to the very 
characteristic for which farmers try to exterminate them. 
Ground squirrels burrow in the ground and do not ordi- 
narily climb trees. They have cheek pouches in which they 
carry a supply of grain to their burrows in autumn for winter 
use. In cold latitudes they stay in their burrows through 
the winter, and become dormant at least a part of the season. 
As they are by nature seed-lovers, they of course appreciate 
especially those seeds that man has perfected by many cen- 
turies of careful selection. They 
therefore do considerable damage 
to grain fields. But they also eat 
seeds of every other description, 
green and dried grass, as well as all | 
sorts of insects, mice, and other flesh | 
that may come within their reach. |, 
Their numbers increase rapidly, as |; 
they rear from seven to ten young 
to each litter. The most satisfac- 
tory method of destroying them is 
to feed them grain that has been 
treated with strychnine. THIRTEEN-LINED GROUND 
2! ane SQUIRREL 
There are over seventy varieties 
of Spermophiles in the United States and Canada, ranging 
over the western part of the continent and as far eastward 
as Indiana. In our northern states we have three species, 
and we are thankful that the number is not larger. 
The Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel. — This species, 
popularly called the Striped Gopher, inhabits all the prairie 
regions from Indiana to the Rocky Mountains and from 
Texas to Saskatchewan. Its general appearance is too fa- 
miliar to require description here. Its burrow descends two 
