franklin's spermophile. 



53 



burrowing under corn shocks. They eat some corn and usually carry 

 considerable down in their holes in the ground. On my father's farm, 

 36 miles west of here, at Auburn, Shawnee County, Kans., they were 

 very common several years ago. They would dig up the corn almost 

 as fast as it was planted for a distance of a few rods in from the stone 

 walls wherever the latter inclosed the fields. On an average I think 

 there could not have been less than one squirrel for each rod of fence. 

 Apparently there was one for each few feet. We killed many of them 

 with guns and tried to poison them, with apparently very little success. 

 By scattering shelled corn along the fences for the squirrels to feed 

 upon while the planted corn was coming up most of the difficulty was 

 obviated. A wary old female cat, which had taken up her quarters in 

 a barn in one of the fields, caught many of the squirrels, and was 

 accustomed to carry them to her kittens when the latter were large 

 enough to feed upon such things. The offspring of this cat, when they 

 were full grown, also preyed upon the squirrels. In the course of a few 

 years these cats, over a dozen in number, almost exterminated the 

 squirrels. They would sit on the stone walls and pounce upon the 

 squirrels when the latter came out from their hiding places. These 

 same cats also caught many rabbits. I do not know of any other in- 

 stance where cats caught the large ground squirrels to any consider- 

 able extent.'" 



From La Moure, X. Dak., Mr. C. B. Struble writes: Franklin's 

 Spermophile is most destructive in dry seasons, when it comes in from 

 the surrounding prairie. The burrows are not confined to the edges of 

 fields, but are found all over them. Summer fallowing removes them 

 by starving them out. They are very destructive to gardens, especially 

 to peas and cabbage; some slight damage is also done by digging up 

 seed in the spring. Poison is the ouly effective remedy against them. 

 County commissioners distribute poison free of expense to all farmers 

 applying for it."' 



At Eipon, Fond du Lac County, Wis., where this specif s is rare. 

 Prof. W. W. Cooke considers that it does no harm. He says: *-At 

 Bipon the Striped Gopher does damage, but the Gray Gopher does 

 none. The Gray Gopher is very scarce there. 1 have not seen a dozeu 

 specimens in more than as many years' residence in that vicinity, 

 whereas at White Earth. Minn., they were abundant and did an 

 immense amount of damage." 



We are informed by Prof. C. B. Waldron. arboriculturist of the North 

 Dakota Agricultural College and Experiment Station, that in eastern 

 Xorth Dakota, where Franklin's Spermophile was formerly abundant, it 

 is now being driven out by Bichard son's Spermophile, which is on the 

 increase in this region. 



Bobert Kennicott says of this species: "They fed upon June grass, 

 clover, timothy, and the broad-leaved plantain, and seemed particu- 



