Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/61

GOOSEBERRY. 41 GOPHER. more attention than they do from liorticulturists: The Miow-tlowered j^ooseberry {IHIkk nictuin), a native of the northwestern coast of America, is remarkable for its beautiful white penduloua flowers and its acid berries, which in size and color resemble black currants, and which make delicious pies, li'ibcs speciosiiiii is ornamental in pleasure grounds, and is remarkable for its shining leaves, as well as for its Howers having four stamens, instead of five, as in other species, and for the great length of the filaments. Ribes saxatilc, a native of Siberia, and other sjjecies, forming a subgenus called Botryearpum, have a character somewhat intermediate between cur- rants and gooseberries, being prickly shrubs, but having their flowers in racemes. Ribcs sajraiite has small, smooth, globose, dark-purple berries, like currants. Consult Card, Busli Fruits (New York, 1S98). GOOSEBERRY, Ix.';ects Injitriou.s to the. The gooseberry is injuriously attacked by several liorers, etc., Imrmful to currants (see Currant- IxsEt'TS). Two caterpillars, however, are espe- cially harmful. The most prominent one in the Old Vor!d is the magpie moth ( .i6r((,r«.5 (/tossh?o- riata ) . closely related to the canker-worm, whose caterpillar is the worst enemy of the gooseberry in Europe. In the United States the most dam- age is done by the gooseberry fruit- worm (Dak- ruma convohileUa) , the larva of a pyralid moth about one incli across the wings, which are "pale gray crossed near the base by a dark diffuse band which is divided by a whitish line.'" The eggs are laid by the female moths on the yoimg fruit, one on each ; and when the young hatch they bore into the berry and feed on the pulp. The cater- pillars are about an inch in length, pale green, with brownish heads. As they grow they bind several berries together with silk. Finally, they drop to the ground, form cocoons beneath the leaves, and spend the winter there in the pupa state, from which they emerge in the spring. The only practical and effective remedy seems to be to watch the bushes, and pick oflT and destroy the reddish infected berries early in the season. The small clearwing (.J^neria tipiiliforme) is also harmful in some places. GOOSEBERItY INSECTS, a, Gooseberry moth [Abraxas /frosstilnrintu) and larva; b. Currant-borer, the clearwing (.i'^eWa tipuliforme). GOOSE-BIRD. A gunner's local name in the United States for the Hudsonian godwit (q.v.). GOOSEFISH. See Angler. GOOSEFLOWER. See Aristolochia. GOOSEFOOT. See Chenopodium. GOOSE-GRASS, or Cle.^vers. A coarse- stenimed annual species of bed-straw with whorls of six to eight leaves. The hispid stems, leaves, and fruit cling to clothing and to animals. A somewhat similar species is Galium fricorne, in- troduced from Europe into a ninnber of places in the United States. There are more than a dozen species in the United States, none of which are of much importance e.xeept as weeds. See Eleu- SINE. GOOTOO (Jamaica negro). A name in .Jamaica for various small globefishes (q.v.). GO'PHER. A name of somewluit indefinite signiticaucc. used in ditt'erent localities to desig- nate different animals. It is a corruption of the French word (/auffre, a honeycomb, which was applied by the French settlers in America to vari- ous burrowing animals which 'honej'comb' the soil. ( 1 ) Any of several American rodents, belong- ing to two distinct families, the Geomyidte and the Sciurida>, subfamily Spermoi)hilinte. The true gophers belong to the first nu'Utioned family, the spermophiles being more properly ground-squir- rels (q.v.). The GeomyidiE are known as pouched rats or pocket-gophers. They are characterized by very large external cheek-pouches, which are lined with fur. They do not communicate with the mouth, but open beside it. In some species, they run along the whole side of the neck as far back as the shoulders. These pouches seem to be used largely for carrying food. The front feet have large claws and are otherwise fitted for dig- ging. The tail is short and the ears are small. There are only two genera — Geoniys, with jierhaps half a dozen species, and Thomomys, with four or five smaller species. All of the pouched rats are confined to the western half of North America, except two species of Geomys. which occur in the Gulf States, and thev' range from Central Ameri- ca northward to British Columbia. The most common species (Gconii/s biiisarius) is found in Canada, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa. Texas, Mexico, and the Gulf States, but not north of the Sas- katchewan River. It is about 9 inches long, with an almost hairless tail about 2 inches long, and weighs about 13 ounces. Its legs are short ; fore feet strong, and well adapted for burrowing, having five claws, the three middle ones very large and long. The claws on the hind feet are small, but the two middle ones longer than the others, the interior one being almost rudimen- tary. It has 20 teeth: 8 upper and 8 lower molars, and 4 incisors which are very strong, especially the lower pair, which are much stronger than the upper. The ears are vei-y small. The animal is reddish-brown on the back and sides, ashy beneath, and has white feet. It burrows in sandy soils, throwing up the earth in little mounds, and its work is surprisingly rapid .and extensive. It subsists on grass, roots, nuts, buds, and farm vegetables. The roots of trees often suffer severely from its attacks. The pouches which cover the side of the head are capa- ble of being so distended as to enable the animal to cari-y a considerable load of provisions. The true Southern gopher, or Georgia hamster ( Gco- mijs tuza), is a larger animal, found in Alabania, Georgia, and Florida. By a strange misapplica- tion of names, the gophers of the Southern States are often called 'salamanders,' although the lat- ter word is almost universally applied to the tailed amphibians, and its use should properly be confined to that group. On the Pacific Coast there are several kinds of gophers. Some are (iy2 inches long, with a tail nearly 3 inches.