Natural History 379 



parts of America has its own style of tail and fashion of 

 wearing it: 



The northern or white-tailed jack carries his snowy- 

 white tail out straight behind, so its general pure-white 

 is visible; 



The southern or black-tailed jack has his tail jet-black 

 on the upper part, and he carries it straight down; 



The varying hare has an inconsequent, upturned tuft, 

 like a tear in his brown pantaloons, showing the white 

 undergarment; 



The cottontail has his latter end brown above, but he 

 keeps it curled up tight on his back, so as to show nothing 

 but the gleaming white puff of cotton on a helpful back- 

 ground of rich brown. The cottontail's tail never touches 

 the ground except when he sits down on it. 



The most variable features of any animal are always 

 its most speciaHzed features. The jack-rabbit's tail-piece 

 is much subject to variation, and the length and depth 

 of the Httle intertrack-ial dash that it makes in the snow 

 is a better guide to the individual that made it than would 

 be the tracks of all four feet together. 



THE NEWTON JACK-RABBIT 



During February of 1902, I found myself with a day, 

 to spare in the hotel office at Newton, Kan. I asked 

 the usual question, "Any wild animals about here?" and 

 got the usual answer, "No, all been shot off." I walked 

 down the street four blocks from the hotel, and found 

 a jack-rabbit trail in the snow. Later I found some 

 cottontail tracks, though still in town. I walked a mile 

 into the country, met an old farmer who said that "No 

 rabbits were ever found around here." A quarter of a 

 mile away was an orchard, and beside it a fence half buried 



