108 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



they do not dare to enter burrows, so their only protection is to 

 keep within easy reach of rocky cover. They are almost as quick 

 and skillful in running over masses of broken lava and dodging 

 into its deep caverns as the little rock cony. Their abundance seems 

 always to depend on the nature of available cover. In the rock 

 slides around the base of a basaltic butte near Riverside they were 

 especially common, and the writer often saw several at a time scamp- 

 ering for their dens. Almost every talus slope at the base of a 

 rimrock shelters a few or many. 



Like other rabbits they are largely nocturnal but usually begin 

 their evening activities before sundown, and are fond of sitting 

 in the morning sun to warm up after a chilly night. Often in prefer- 

 ence to sitting in a dark corner under the rocks all day they occupy 

 a shaded form under a sagebrush, so close to the rocks that only a 

 few quick leaps are necessary to gain a place of greater safety. 



Breeding habits. Adult females have usually 4 pairs of mammae 

 arranged in 2 pairs of abdominal and 2 of pectoral on 2 long parallel 

 mammary glands. The young, usually 4 to 6 in number, are born 

 in April, May, June, and July; but whether there is more than 

 1 litter a year is not positively shown by the dates. At birth the 

 young apparently are hairless, blind, and much less developed than 

 the young of the jack rabbits and wood hares. They are said to 

 be kept in fur-lined nests until able to run about. Few details of 

 the animal's breeding habits are known. 



Food habits. Their food in summer is mainly green vegetation, 

 which supplies both food and water, as there are often months with- 

 out rain and usually no open water within reach. Green grass and 

 numerous succulent plants are eaten, and sometimes fields or gardens 

 are visited for clover, alfalfa, growing grain, or other crops. In 

 winter they browse on buds, tips, and bark of many shrubby plants 

 and might injure young fruit trees or shrubbery planted close to 

 the rocks where they live. Their rounded pellets, scattered thickly 

 where they live, are made up of the indigestible particles of plant 

 fiber, much of which shows bits of grass stems and leaves in summer, 

 and bits of bark and woody tissue in winter. 



Economic status. Generally these little rabbits are free from 

 disease, plump, and in good condition. Occasional Cuterefira, larvae 

 of botflies, are found under the skin but do not necessarily injure 

 the rabbits as food. The young are especially delicious broiled 

 or fried, while even the oldest and largest are good in stews or pot 

 roasts with a bit of bacon or fat pork included. To many campers, 

 ranchers, and newly located settlers, they have an especial importance 

 when other fresh meat is not available. To the community at large 

 their game value is second to that of few other mammals. 



Since the discovery of tularemia among rabbits has shown the 

 danger to human beings of this disease, especial care should be 

 exercised in handling any rabbits. Rubber gloves have been recom- 

 mended to prevent the blood or body juices getting on the hands. 

 Examination of the liver and internal organs of the rabbits will 

 usually show if they are in a healthy condition and suitable for 

 food. Thorough cooking should be ensured to render rabbit meat 

 safe as a food. Well-cooked stew or fricassee is considered safe. 



