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COMMON MAMMALS OK WKSTKliN MONTANA. 



the winter instead of green hay, but in this case, the following 

 formula should be used : 



FORMULA VI. ALFALFA HAY. 



Chopped alfalfa (or clover) hay 30 pounds. 



Strychnine sulphate 1 ounce. 



Water 5 or gallons. 



The alfalfa or clover should he green rather than bleached, 

 and chopped steins, rather than the blossoms and leaves, should be 

 used, for they retain moisture longer. 



Place the chopped hay in a large gal vanized-iron washtub, sprinkle 

 with .'5 gallons of fresh water, and mix well with a pitchfork. Dis- 

 solve the ounce of strychnine in '2 or ."> gallons of hot water and 

 sprinkle it over the dampened hay, stirring until all the poisoned 

 solution is taken up. The bait is then ready for use. Since this 

 preparation does not keep well, no more should be made up at one 

 time than is needed for immediate use. 



POCKET GOPHERS. 



DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS. 



Pocket gophers are numerous in western Montana, being especially 

 abundant on ranches situated in the bottoms of valleys. (Figs. 28 

 and 29.) 



Fig. 28. — rocket gopher with pouches full. 



They spend practically all their lives in the underground tunnels 

 which they excavate, and are seldom seen except when throwing 

 fresh soil out of their burrows. They are not nocturnal, but are most 

 active in the evening- and early mornings and on damp, cloudy days. 

 The dirt excavated in making the tunnels is thrown out in little piles 

 at irregular intervals, and the holes are then plugged up. (Fig. 30.) 

 It seems probable that pocket gophers breed but once a year, the 

 average number of young being four or five. 



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