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<v Speaker 1>Section eleven of Birds and All Nature, Volume seven n

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<v Speaker 1>two February nineteen hundred, recorded for Librevox dot Org by

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<v Speaker 1>Betty b The gopher. The name of gopher, according to Brem,

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<v Speaker 1>is applied in some American localities to various other widely

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<v Speaker 1>variant rodents. The zoologists who first described the animal obtained

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<v Speaker 1>their specimens from Indians, who had amused themselves by cramming

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<v Speaker 1>both cheek pouches full of earth, distending them to such

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<v Speaker 1>a degree that if the animal had walked, the pouches

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<v Speaker 1>would have trailed on the earth. These artificially distended pouches

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<v Speaker 1>obtained for the gopher its name. The taxidermists who prepared

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<v Speaker 1>the dead specimens endeavored to give them what was supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be a lifelike appearance by following the practice of

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<v Speaker 1>the Indians in distending the cheek pouches, and the artists

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<v Speaker 1>who delineated the animal follow the models which were accessible

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<v Speaker 1>to them, but too truly in their drawings. Owing to

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<v Speaker 1>these circumstances, the pictures of gophers of even recent date

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<v Speaker 1>represent really monstrous animals. When they honestly intend to familiarize

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<v Speaker 1>us with the gopher. The gopher may be found east

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<v Speaker 1>of the Rocky Mountains and to the west of the

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<v Speaker 1>Mississippi River between the thirty fourth and fifty second parallel

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<v Speaker 1>of north latitude. It leads an underground life digging tunnels

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<v Speaker 1>in various directions. Tunnels of old standing says brem are

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<v Speaker 1>packed hard and firm from constant use. Lateral passages branch

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<v Speaker 1>off at intervals. The main chamber is situated under the

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<v Speaker 1>roots of a tree at a depth of about four

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<v Speaker 1>and one half feet. The entrance tunnel is sunk down

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<v Speaker 1>to it with a spiral direction. This chamber is large,

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<v Speaker 1>is lined with soft grass, and serves for a nesting

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<v Speaker 1>and sleeping place. The nest in which the young, numbering

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<v Speaker 1>from five to seven are born about the beginning of April,

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<v Speaker 1>is lined with the hair of the mother. It is

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded with circular passages from which the tunnels radiate. Gessner

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<v Speaker 1>found that a passage leads from the nest to a

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<v Speaker 1>larger hole, the storeroom, which is usually filled with roots, potatoes, nuts,

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<v Speaker 1>and seeds. When throwing up the earth, the gopher exposes

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<v Speaker 1>itself to view as little as possible, and immediately after

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<v Speaker 1>accomplishing its purpose, plunges back into its hole. According to Audubon,

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<v Speaker 1>it appears above ground to bask in the sun. We

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<v Speaker 1>have seen it sit at the entrance to its den

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<v Speaker 1>with an air of bold indifference to the approach of danger,

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<v Speaker 1>and then suddenly vanish underground, its acute sense of hearing

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<v Speaker 1>and great power of scent protected from surprises. Audubon kept

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<v Speaker 1>several gophers in captivity for months, feeding them on potatoes.

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<v Speaker 1>Their appetites were voracious, but they would drink neither water

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<v Speaker 1>nor milk. They made incessant efforts to regain their liberty

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<v Speaker 1>by gnawing through boxes and doors. They constantly drag clothing

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<v Speaker 1>and other similar objects together, utilizing them as bedding, first

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<v Speaker 1>gnawing them to pieces. One of them straying into a boot,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of turning back, simply gnawed its way through the tip.

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<v Speaker 1>The habit of gnawing was unendurable, and Audubon incontinently got

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<v Speaker 1>rid of them. The gopher is very destructive to valuable

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<v Speaker 1>trees and plants, for which reason man is its most

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous enemy. The only other foe it has is to

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<v Speaker 1>fear being water and snakes. This pretty little rodent is

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<v Speaker 1>often found in populous neighborhoods. A few years ago, the

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<v Speaker 1>writer saw one rush into a hole under the root

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<v Speaker 1>of a large osage orange bush in wood Lawn, Chicago.

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<v Speaker 1>Curiosity led him to watch for the reap appearance of

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<v Speaker 1>the animal, which soon put its head cautiously above the

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<v Speaker 1>entrance and eyed the intruder with as much interest as

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<v Speaker 1>a weasel will often show under like circumstances. For several weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>the gopher was visible in the morning hours. We pointed

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<v Speaker 1>it out to several persons, each of whom declared it

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<v Speaker 1>to be a ground squirrel. There is a great difference

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<v Speaker 1>in these small animals, but they are frequently confounded. The

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<v Speaker 1>name of gopher is applied in some American localities to

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<v Speaker 1>various other rodents end of section eleven. This recording is

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<v Speaker 1>in the public domain.