Mammal Study 



213 



cotton-tail rabbit. 



THE COTTON-TAIL RABBIT 



Teacher's Story 



"The Bunnies are a feeble folk whose weakness is their strength. 

 To shun a gun a Bun will run to almost any length."- OLIVER HERFORD. 



T I Swell for Molly Cotton-tail and her family that they 

 have learned to shun more than guns for almost every 

 predatory animal and bird makes a dinner of them on 

 every possible occasion. But despite these enemies, 

 moreover, with the addition of guns, men and dogs, 

 the cotton-tail lives and flourishes in our midst. A 

 "Molly" raised two families last year in a briar-patch 

 back of our garden on the Cornell Campus, where dogs 

 of many breeds abound ; and after each fresh fall of 

 snow this winter we have been able to trace our 

 bunny neighbors in their night wanderings around 

 the house, beneath the spruces and in the orchard. 

 The track consists of two long splashes, paired, 

 a little behind them, two smaller ones; the rabbit 

 as a boy uses a vaulting pole and lands both 

 hind feet on each side and ahead of them; owing to the fact that the 

 bottoms of the feet are hairy the print is not clear-cut. When the rabbit 

 is not in a hurry it has a peculiar lope, but when frightened it makes long 

 jumps. The cotton-tails are night wanderers and usually remain hidden 

 during the day. In summer, they feed on clover or grass or other juicy 

 herbs and show a fondness for sweet apples and fresh cabbage; in our 



and between and 

 uses its front feet 



