USE OF THE POUCHES. 



15 



potato, of which he was particularly loud. The manner of eating was peculiar and 

 interesting, and showed an ability to use the huge foTefeet and flaws in a way pre- 

 viously unsuspected. After satisfying the immediate demands of hunger it was his 

 practice to fill one or both cheek pouches. His motions were so swift that it was 

 exceedingly difficult to follow them with sufficient exactness to see just how the 

 operation was performed. If a whole potato was given him, or apiece too large to 

 go into the pouch, he invariably grasped it between the forepaws and proceeded to 

 pry off a small piece with the long lower incisors. He would then raise himself 

 slightly on his hind legs and hold the fragment between his forepaws while eating, 

 for he usually ate a certain quantity before putting any into the pouches. If small 

 pieces were given liim he took them promptly and passed them quickly into the 

 pouches. Some pieces were thus disposed of at once; others were first trimmed by 

 biting off projecting angles. As a rule one pouch was filled at a time, though uot 

 always, and the hand of the same side was used to push the food in. The usual 

 course is as follows: A piece of potato, root, or other food is seized between the 

 incisor teeth, and is immediately transferred to the forepaws, which are held in a 

 horizontal position, the tips of the claws curving toward one auother. If the food 

 requires reduction in size, the trimming is done while held in this position. The 

 piece is then passed rapidly across the side of the face with a sort of wiping motion 

 which forces it into tke-open mouth of the pouch. Sometimes a single rapid stroke 

 with one hand is sufficient; at other times both hands are used, particularly if the 

 piece is large. In such cases the long claws of one hand are used to draw down the 

 lower side of the opening, while the food is poked in with the other. It is obviously 

 impossible for the animal to pass food from the mouth to the pouches without the 

 aid of its foreclaws. 



The most remarkable thing connected with the use of the pouches is the way they 

 are emptied. The forefeet are brought back simultaneously along the sides of (he 

 head until they reach a point opposite the hinder end of the pouches; they are then 

 pressed firmly against the head and carried rapidly forward. In this way the con- 

 tents of the pouches are promptly dumped in front of the animal. Sometimes 

 several strokes are necessary. I am not prepared to say that the animal can not 

 empty the pouches by means of the delicate investing muscles, but I have never seen 

 them emptied iu any other way than that here described. 



The pockets are often stuffed so full of pieces of roots, stems, and 

 leaves as to distort the appearence of the animal's head. Hoots and 

 stems are cut iu sections about an inch long, so as to tit the pockets 

 nicely, and are packed in lengthwise. Leaves are folded or rolled to 

 fill the smallest space. 



Although it is commonly supposed that the pouches are used for 

 carrying dirt out of the holes, the fact is they are never used for this 

 purpose. In examining the pockets of more than a hundred specimens 

 caught in traps I could find no evidence that any had been filled with 

 earth. Occasionally specks of dirt from roots cling to the hairy inner 

 surfaces; nothing more. If the pouches had been filled with earth, the 

 short hairs would inevitably retain some of it. Furthermore, Gophers 

 shot in the very act of pushing dirt from their holes had none in their 

 pouches. The method of removing earth from the burrows, as observed 

 in live Gophers, has been already described (p. 11). 



The Gophers are industrious workers, and whatever food is found 

 And not needed at once is carried to chambeis m some part of the 

 tunnel and stored. Frequently a plow breaks into these storehouses 



