HARES AND RABBITS 127 



the gronncl and whose young are born with a well developed coat 

 of hair and with the eyes open; rabbits, on the other hand, live 

 in burrows and the young' are born naked and with the eyes closed. 

 Of our species, then, the members of the genus Lepus are properly 

 called hares, while the members of the genus Sylvilagus, and other 

 g-enera not represented in Iowa, are properly termed rabbits. Com- 

 mon usage makes it unlikely that the names "jack rabbit," "snow- 

 shoe rabbit," etc., will be changed to meet this strictly scientific 

 demand. 



It is a well known fact that hares and rabbits are exceedingly 

 prolific, from four to six young being born at; a time and two or 

 sometimes three litters being produced in a year. In some cases 

 the animals begin to breed when they are six months old. 



While a good deal is known of the habits of the forms occupy- 

 ing the more populated regions of the United States, much re- 

 mains to be found out concerning details of life history of even 

 the well known species. Most species are mainly nocturnal, al- 

 though the jack rabbit and even the cottontail moves about in 

 daytime particularly if the weather is cloudy. If food is scarce 

 both hares and rabbits become more diurnal. "All the species of 

 Lepus make nestlike 'forms' in sheltered spots, in which they 

 conceal themselves during the day; although in summer L€p%is 

 campestris [White-tailed jack rabbit] sometimes uses the deserted 

 holes of other mammals, and in winter burrows into the snow for 

 protection from the bitter cold, and from the birds and beasts of 

 prey in the open where it lives. 



"Most members of the genus Sylvilagus [this genus contains 

 the cottontails] use both forms and the deserted burrows of other 

 mammals, or find shelter under rocks, roots or trees and similar 

 places. Forms are in common use in summer and in regions which 

 have a warm winter climate but some species 'habitually use old 

 burrows, which they sometimes enlarge. The forms are usually made 

 under the shelter of dense herbage or under low brushy growths, 

 and the owner spends the day in •them regularly for considerable 

 periods. The females of many, if not all, specie.^ of Sylvilagus 

 make soft, warm nests of fine grass, leaves and other vegetable 

 material, lined with hair from their ow^n bodies, and in these 

 nests the young are born and lie concealed like mice in a nest, while 

 small and helpless. The nests of cottontails are usually placed 

 in a bowl-shaped depression in the ground in some sheltered spot, 



