Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/62

* GOPHER. 42 GORAL. cheek-pouches largo, lest'iubliiig the thumb of a glove, hanging down by the side of the head. When in the act of emptying its pouches the ani- mal sits on its liams, like a marmot, or squirrel, and .squeezes the sacks against its breast with its chin and fore paws. All those not inliabiting uarm climates liibernate. A familiar species in the Northwest is the camass-rat (Thomomys till- 2)oidcs) . Similar animals inhabit the plains of other parts of the world, as South Africa, Russia, Tar- tary, and India. Everywhere that civilization has caused a lessening of natural enemies, such as weasels, badgers, skunks, foxes, wolves, hawks, owls, serpents, and the like, these animals have increased to the proportions of a pest, and must be combated by poison, by flooding their burrows, suffocating with sulphur fumes, or similar means ; in view of which such native carnivorous animals and birds as the coj-otc, badger, skunk, ferret, and all the hawks and owls should be preserved to the limits of toleration as assistants in keep- ing down these and other harmful rodents, such as the mice. See accompanying Plate. Consult : Coues, Geomi/s and Thomomys (Washington, 18751: Herrick, The ilammals of Minnesota (Minneapolis, 1892). (2) A tortoise. See Gopher Tortoise. (3) A serpent. See Gopher Snake. GOPHER SNAKE (so called because it bur- rows like a gopher), or IxDioo Snake. A large colubrine serpent (Compsosoiiia coniis, variety i'oui>erii) of the Southern United States. 10 feet in length, black, with reddish markings about the mouth and forward part of the belly. It is re- garded bj' the negroes as a mortal enemy of the rattlesnake (see Kikg-Snake), and is rarely mo- lested by them. Tliis variety passes into a vari- ety {mclaniiriis) of Mexico and Central America, and that into the typical Compsosoma coraif: of South America, which is light brouni, with a black oblique stripe on each side of the neck. GOPHER STATE. Minnesota. See States, PoPLLAR Names of. GOPHER TORTOISE. A turtle {Xerohnfes polyphemus) of the sand}' coast districts of the Southern United States. The shell, brown and black above and yellow below, measures h inches in length, the females being larger than the males. These tortoises are strong animals, bur- rowing deeply into the soil, where they pass the hot part of the day in pairs, and hibernate in winter, and whence they come out at night in search of vegetable food. They are numerous and somewhat gregarious, esjiecially in Florida, and do much damage in gardens and among root crops. The rural negroes seek them for food, and also search for their buried eggs, which are as large as the eggs of a pigeon and five in number. The animal is thus an important food resource in Florida, where it is captured largely in pit traps. Other similar species inhabit the South- western Territories and Northern Mexico. GOPHER WOOD, The wood of which Noah's ark was made (Gen. vi. 14). The word occurs only in this passage, is not found in the Semitic languages other than Hebrew, and its true mean- ing is not known. It has been conjectured to be akin to the Hebrew kopher, bitumen, or pophrith, pitch ; but it is hard to see what connection this ■can have with Noah's ark. Some resinous wood seems to be required, and opinion vacillates be- tween the cedar and the cypress. GOPPERT, gf'pert, Heinrich Robert (1800- 84). A German paleontologist and botanist, born at Sprottau, and educated at Breslau and Berlin. He was teacher at the Medico-Chirurgical In- stitute for twenty years, and became professor of botany at the University of Breslau in 1831. During the last tliirty years of his life he was director of the botanical garden of Breslau. Be- sides his important compilation and classification of all fossilized plants known prior to 1850 in Brom's Index I'ulcrontologiciis (1848-50), he wrote a veri,' large number of works, chielly on vegetable physiology- and phytopaleontology. Among these- are: Die fossilen Koniferen ver- glichen init denen der Jetzttrelt, with 58 plates (1850); Skizzen ::ur Kenntnis der Vrimlder liiihmens und Schlesicns (1808) : Ueber die fas- site Flora der siliirischen, devonischen, und un- tern Kohlrii format ion (1860); Die Flora des Bcrnsteins (1883). GOPPINGEN, ge'ping-cn. A town of the KiiigiUim of Wiirttemberg, German.y. situated on the Fils, 26 miles by rail from Stuttgart (Map: Germany, C 4). It ha.s an old castle, built in the sixteenth century. It is an important industrial centre, with manufactures of cotton goods, ma- chiner}', and corsets. Population, in 1890, 14,- 352; in 1900, 19,384, principally Protestants. GORAKHPUR, go'ruk-pnor'. A division of the Nortlnest Provinces, British India, bounded on the north by Nepal, and on the south by the Gogra River. Area of division, 9496 .square miles. Population, in 1891. 0.508.800; in 1901, 0,331,850. It comprises the three districts of Gorakhpur, Basti, and Azangarh, and lies im- mediately south of the lower Himalayan slopes. It is intersected by numerous rivers and lakes well stocked with fish. In the north and centre dense forests abound, and the whole countiy pre- sents a verdant appearance. The principal rivere are the Rapti. the Gogra. and the Great and Lit- tle Gandak. The tiger is found in the north, and many other wild animals abound. The chief pro- ductions are cotton, rice, hajra, joah, moth, etc. Capital, Gorakhpur (q.v. ). (iautama Buddha, the founder nf Buddhism, died within the District of Gorakhpur. and it became the headquarters of the new creed. The district formed part of the territory ceded by Oudh to the British under the treaty of 1801. "During the mutiny of 1857 it was lost for a short time, but under the friendly Gurkhas the rebels were driven out, and the whole district once more passed under British rule. * GORAKHPUR. A city and military canton- ment, the capital of a district and division of the Northwest Provinces, British India, on the R.apti River. 100 miles northeast of Benares (Map: India. D 3). Its principal edifice is a beautiful mosque, built in the seventeenth cen- tuiT. The cantonment is on the west side of the city. A considerable river transit trade in grain and timber is carried on. Population, in 1801. 03,020: in 1901, 64,148. GO'RAL ( East Indian ). A goat-antelope (q.v.) of the genus Cenias. inhabiting the moun- tain tops of Central Asia. Three species are separated by zoologists, but those of Tibet and Mongolia are so little known that they may