THE GROUND SQUIRRELS 
75 
As in the case of nearly all burrowing rodents of 
cold latitudes, nature has so adjusted the life of 
this animal that it survives the long and dreary 
winter in the strange, half-dead condition called 
hibernation. To make this possible, the young 
are born early in the year, and mature early, and 
during summer and autumn, take on a great 
quantity of fat. At the approach of winter, it 
curls up in its burrow for a sleep of from three 
to four months’ duration. 
By the investigations of Dr. P. R. Hoy, it has 
been discovered that in the case of the Thirteen- 
Lined Spermophile, the action of the heart is 
reduced from two hundred to only four feeble 
beats per minute, the temperature is reduced 
from 105° to 58°, and there is no visible breathing. 
The circulation of the blood was so feeble that 
when a limb was amputated, only a few drops of 
blood slowly oozed from the wound, while the 
nerves showed no sensitiveness. In fact, the 
animal was in a condition of suspended anima- 
tion, as if under the influence of chloroform. In 
the northern portions of its range, this sper- 
mophile hibernates from about November 20 
to April 1 . 
Franklin’s Spermophile 1 looks very much 
like a slender-bodied, short-tailed tree-squirrel; 
and very often it is called the Gray Ground Squir- 
rel. It should not, however, be called the “ Gray 
Gopher,” or “Scrub Gopher,” for both these names 
are erroneous. It is best to call each animal 
by a name peculiarly its own, even though the 
beginning of correct naming involves a little 
trouble. 
On an open prairie, especially in spring when 
the young grass is short, this spermophile is a 
conspicuous animal, and strongly resembles the 
gray squirrel of the East. Its upper surface is 
of a yellowish-gray color marked with fine, wavy, 
cross-wise lines of black or brown. Its under 
surface is distinctly gray, and its hair is coarse 
and stiff. In size it is about 9 + 5 inches. Its 
home is the central portion of the range of the 
Thirteen-Lined Spermophile. The western limit 
follows the eastern boundary of the arid plains 
northward from southeastern Kansas to the 
Saskatchewan, Alberta, and from thence south- 
eastward to southern Wisconsin, eastern Illinois 
and northern Missouri. 
Whenever numerous in farming regions, this 
1 Ci-tel'lus frank'lin-i. 
animal is very troublesome, not only in destroying 
grain in the ground and in the stack, but also in 
destroying young chickens. They are very vent- 
uresome in locating permanently near farm- 
houses and barns, and sometimes they are very 
destructive in gardens. As an offset to the valu- 
able farm products destroyed by these creatures, 
Franklin’s Spermophile destroys great numbers 
of noxious insects, such as grasshoppers, cater- 
pillars, beetles, and also field mice. In the 
Richardson’s spermophile. 
United States Department of Agriculture, twenty- 
nine stomachs were examined with the following 
result: animal matter present, 30.3 per cent.; 
vegetable, 6S.5 per cent., and undetermined, 1.2 
per cent. Out of the whole twenty-nine stomachs 
examined, twenty-six contained the remains of 
insects! Thus the grain consumed by this ani- 
mal is at least partially paid for by the destruc- 
tion of insects that prey upon crops ; but farmers 
everywhere are diligent in destroying it with 
poisoned wheat placed in its burrow. 
Richardson’s Spermophile , 2 of northern 
Montana, North Dakota and the region immedi- 
ately northward as far as the Saskatchewan, has 
a short body, short legs, and a short tail, and 
looks very much like a thin prairie-" dog.” In 
color it is like the preceding species, except 
that its tail is darker; but in size it is a trifle 
smaller (9 + 3 inches). Its habits are practically 
identical with those of Franklin’s Spermophile, 
but if there is any difference, it is more destruc- 
tive to grain than is the latter, and consumes less 
insect food. It is fortunate that this species 
inhabits so small an area of the wheat country 
of the Northwest. 
2 Ci-tel'lus rich' ard-son-i. 
