According to Professor Lantz, carbon bisulphide and other poisonous gases have frequently been recommended for the destruction of the pocket-gopher, but the great length of the burrows and their irregularities in depth prevent the gases from flowing into every part, and the animals often escape. Trapping, if properly done, is a sure method of killing the gopher; but it is attended with considerable labor and is very slow. An excellent trap for general use is the No. O ordinary steel trap. Sink it in loose soil to the level of the runway, nearly conceal it by sprinkling fine earth over it, and leave the hole open. Gophers are easily poisoned. They are fond of potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, raisins and prunes. The presence of strychnine, arsenic or other poisons does not seem to deter them from eating the food; but if the poison is sweetened they seem to eat it more readily. In summer it may be desirable to sweeten the poison, but in the fall and early spring it does not seem worth while. The poisoned food being introduced to the burrows below the surface, there is no danger of poisoning stock. It might be well, however, not to let swine run in the fields for a time after the poison has been put out. The following method of introducing poison is recommended: Cut the potatoes or other food into pieces not more than three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Cut a slit in each piece and with a point of the knife blade insert a little sulphate of strychnine; as much as half the bulk of a grain of wheat. Having prepared the bait in sufficient quantity, go to the field armed with a round, sharp-pointed implement an inch or an inch and a half in diameter and of sufficient length. The tool here illustrated was made by a blacksmith. [Illustration] It is a spade handle shod with an iron point. A bar is attached about fifteen inches from the point to enable the operator to use his foot in pressing it into the soil. With this tool it is only necessary to find the runway of the gopher. The handle is sufficiently thick to make a hole large enough to permit one to drop the poisoned potato directly into the burrow. The operator then passes on to another place, leaving the hole open. No digging with a spade or other hard labor is necessary. An experienced person can distribute poison to many acres of alfalfa in a day; and if proper care is taken to rightly distribute the bait, it will not be necessary to go over the ground a second time. Some experience is required to find the burrows quickly. It is best to insert the food as near as possible to the freshest mounds of earth. Two or three pieces of potato at that place are worth many scattered in other parts of the runway. The operator should avoid the larger mounds and those that are not freshly made.