“ The upper incisor teeth are employed to loosen the ground, like a fork; and the little rodents are able to move both backwards and forwards in their runs. The cheek pouches are employed solely in carrying food, which consists largely of roots. In the typical genus Geomys the upper incisors are groove, but in the allied Thomomys they are smooth. The common pocket-gopher, Geomys bursarius, of the Mississippi Valley measures about 8 in. ”

“ Pocket-gophers, which typify a family, the Geomyidae, spend the whole of their time underground, and are specially organized for such a mode of existence, their powerful claws being adapted for digging, while the bristles on the toes prevent the earth from passing between them. ”