Death to the Rodent*. 433 



BI393 : 



Pocket-Gopher Mounds in Cultivator! Field. 



While burrowing underground, pocket gophers cut off the roots of alfaif i 

 and other growing Crops and of orchard trees, and pile up great mounds of 

 dirt on the surface. These mounds cover up and destroy much of the crop, 

 damage machinery used in harvesting, and interfere with its efficient operation. 



destroy as many as 95 per cent of these animals through a 

 single application of the poisoned bait. Pocket gophers 

 occur in all States west of the Mississippi River and are par- 

 ticularly destructive to alfalfa, grazing lands, hay meadows, 

 and root crops. A stand of alfalfa is often entirely ruined 

 through the cutting off of the main branches of the root sys- 

 tem. The quantity of hay that can be harvested is reduced 

 both by this depletion of the stand and through being buried 

 by the great mounds of dirt which are thrown up by por kel 

 gophers. These mounds also interfere seriously with the 

 operation of the harvesting machinery. 



In addition to the direct damage caused by pocket gophers, 

 their burrows frequently serve as an outlet for water from 

 irrigation ditches. The flow of water through these small 

 openings enlarges them, and breaks occur that result in 

 serious loss of water and the flooding and destruction of 

 crops. Such washouts also entail large expenditures in re- 

 pairs. Burrows distributed over the irrigated areas also 

 admit water when irrigation is in progress, frequently result- 

 ing in the washing of deep gullies on sloping land and also 

 interfering seriously with the proper distribution of the 

 available water supply. A striking instance of the breaking 

 of a canal bank, due to a pocket-gopher burrow, occurred in 

 the Farmers' Cooperative Canal Co. project of Canyon 



