THE POCKET GOPHER FAMILY 245 



MousE,^ of the Rocky Mountain region, which has a total 

 length of head and body, VA inches; tail, 2M inches. 



The best swimmer of all rat-like animals is the Muskrat.^ 



The best climber is the Tree Rat,^ of southern India. 



The handsomest rat or mouse in the New World is the 

 Kangaroo Rat, of the southwestern United States, figured 

 on page 242. 



The Tnost humorous of all rat-like animals is the Trading 

 Rat, described on page 230, which delights in playing prac- 

 tical jokes upon its human neighbors. 



The meanest of all rodents is the brown-coated Domestic 

 Rat, the pest of civilization everywhere, which was. sent to 

 man as a perpetual punishment for his cruelties toward harm- 

 less wild creatures all over the world. In addition to its 

 many other crimes and misdemeanors, it carries the flea 

 whose bite produces the dreaded and terribly fatal bubonic 

 plague. San Francisco has spent vast sums in ridding her- 

 self of this pest-carrying animal. 



THE POCKET GOPHER FAMILY 



Geomyidae 



The Red Pocket Gopher* is the most important repre- 

 sentative of a large family of burrowing rodents which does 

 great damage to the crops and lands of American farmers. 

 Whenever you see a brown-coated burrowing animal, the 

 length of a small rat, but twice as thick, with a big pouch 

 in the skin of each cheek, a swinish appetite, a set of long 



' Per-og-nath'us fla'vus. ^ Fi'ber zi-beth'i-cus. 



■5 Mm ru-fes'cens. * Ge'o-mys bursa' ri-vs. 



