escape the pole will be loosened from the peg, thus lifting the
animal in mid-air. Woodchucks are also sometimes drowned out of
their holes, and the turtle is often put to good use for the purpose
of smoking the animals from their subterranean dwellings. A ball of
wicking saturated with kerosene is attached by a wire to the tail
of the reptile. When the ball is ignited the creature is introduced
into the entrance of the hole, and of course in fleeing from its
fiery pursuer it traverses the full length of the burrow, and as
another matter of course drives out its other occupants, which
are shot or captured as they emerge.

The woodchunk's skin is generally taken off as described for the
muskrat, and stretched accordingly.

THE GOPHER.

This remarkable little animal somewhat resembles the Mole in its
general appearance and habits. It is also commonly known as the
Canada Pouched Rat, and is principally found west of the Mississippi
and northward. It is a burrowing animal, and like the Mole drives
its subterranean tunnels in all directions, throwing up little
hillocks at regular intervals of from five to twenty feet. Its
body is thick set and clumsy and about ten inches long, and its
Mole-like claws are especially adapted for digging. Its food consists
of roots and vegetables, and its
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long and projecting incisors are powerful agents in cutting the
roots which cross its path in making its burrow. The most striking
characteristic of the animal, and that from which it takes its
name, consists in the large cheek pouches which hang from each
side of the mouth and extend back to to shoulders. They are used as
receptacles of food which the animal hurriedly gathers when above
ground, afterward returning to its burrow to enjoy its feast at its
leisure. It was formerly very commonly and erroneously believed
that the Gopher used its pouches in conveying the earth from its
burrow, and this is generally supposed at the present day, but
it is now known that the animal uses these pockets only for the
conveyance of its food.

The color of the fur is reddish-brown on the upper parts, fading
to ashy-brown on the abdomen, and the feet are white.

In making its tunnels, the dirt is brought to the surface, thus
making the little mounds after the manner of the mole. After having
dug its tunnel for several feet the distance becomes so great as
to render this process impossible, and the old hole is carefully
stopped up and a