THE CANADA POUCHED RAT '. 
19 
a slightly ascending direction. Two or three supplementary 
galleries are driven from the principal burrow, and by means of 
them the animal is able to escape almost any foe. The stoat, 
however, cannot be deceived by this complicated arrangement 
of tunnels, but winds its lithe body through all the deviating 
passages, and kills every Chipping Squirrel which it finds. One 
of these bloodthirsty weasels has been known to enter the 
burrow of a Chipping Squirrel, and in a short time to leave it, 
having in the space of a very few minutes killed six victims, a 
mother and five young, whose lifeless bodies were found in the 
nursery when the burrow was opened. 
The nest is made of dried leaves of various kinds, and in it 
the mother and her offspring can rest in security from all ordi- 
nary foes. Owing to the complexity of the burrow, no little 
skill is required to trace its various windings, and much exer- 
tion is needed before they can all be laid bare. 
Our next example is the Canada Pouched Rat (. Pseudos- 
toma bursarius ), sometimes called the Gopher, or Mulo. 
This remarkable animal drives burrows of very great extent, 
and whenever it gains admission into a garden, it works much 
damage to the roots of the plants. Every root that crosses the 
tunnel the Pouched Rat will eat ; and not only herbs and 
flowers, but even fruit trees of many years’ growth have been 
killed by this destructive animal. In such cases, the extremity 
of the burrow is always to be found among the roots of some 
tree, which act at the same time as a defence and a larder ; for 
the Rat hides itself under their protection, and eats away their 
tender shoots. 
Like the mole, the Gopher throws up little hillocks at irre- 
gular intervals, sometimes twenty or thirty feet apart, and 
sometimes crowded closely together. The nest of the Gopher is 
made in a burrow constructed expressly for the purpose, and is 
placed in a small globular chamber about eight inches in 
diameter. The bed on which the mother and her young repose 
is made of dried herbage and fur plucked from the body. 
This chamber is the point from w T hich a great number of pas- 
