GEOMYID^ 141 



part of the year they apparently use none, but lie down wherever 

 they happen to be. They are more or less active at all hours, 

 but much less earth is thrown out during- the hours of bright sun- 

 shine. 



No doubt the female makes a warm nest for her young, 

 but I have never happened to find such a home, and it is prob- 

 ably deeper in the ground than the main run and ordinary sleep- 

 ing nests. I • have taken females suckling young at all times 

 of the year. It is not known whether they have more than 

 one litter annually or not, but it is probable that they do. Two 

 to six young constitute a litter. I find in my note book a note 

 of having taken a female containing six foetuses, on March 

 tenth. 



It is seldom that more than one Gopher inhabits a run. At 

 times a pair may be found inhabiting a run, but not often. The 

 young shift for themselves before they are half grown. These 

 young are very difficult to trap because of their small size. 

 I have taken them from runs that would hardly admit my 

 thumb. In such cases several may be found in a quite small 

 area. No doubt the young commence work from the nest and 

 gradually drift apart. 



Many people suppose that the earth thrown out is carried 

 in the cheek pouches by the Pocket Gophers, but such is not 

 the case, the pouches being used only for carrying food. They 

 seem to prefer tO' carry the food some distance back in the run 

 to eat it in quiet. Small bits of food are pocketed as found 

 and work is continued until sufficient is gotten to be worth 

 while stopping to eat or store away. Considerable quantities 

 of food are stored for future use, though not to as great an 

 extent here as in colder climates. If food is seethe or smelled 

 on the surface at a little distance from the opening of the run 

 the Gopher prefers running a tunnel to it rather than to ven- 

 ture far on the surface. The little fellows are good engineers, 

 for I have many times seen pumpkins and melons eaten to a 



