THE JACK "RABBIT" AND THE COTTON-TAIL 267 



The Jack Hare 1 (commonly called Jack 'Rabbit") is 

 easily recognized by his extremely large ears,— 5 to inches 

 long, — slender body, long legs and athletic build, and the 

 black mark on the upper surface of the tail. There are 

 seven species, all very much alike, which inhabit the south- 

 western quarter of the United States, extend northward to 

 Oregon, eastward to Nebraska and Kansas, and southward 

 to Tehuantepec, Mexico. In many localities wherein wolves 

 and foxes have been exterminated, these hares have multi- 

 plied until they have become a great pest. In several locali- 

 ties in California, and also in eastern Colorado, great rabbit 

 drives are made, in which many thousand Jacks are slaugh- 

 tered, and given away in large cities for food. 



The Jack Hare is a very swift runner. In eastern Kan- 

 sas, Professor L. L. Dyche once saw a good greyhound chase 

 a Jack on fair ground for about V/i miles, and in the whole 

 distance the hound gained only about 25 yards. The hare 

 finally escaped by running into a hollow log that had been 

 left on the prairie by accident, and was the only shelter within 

 5 miles! 



The Gray Rabbit, or Cotton-Tail, 2 is a typical repre- 

 sentative of the Rabbit Family, which contains twelve spe- 

 cies. Throughout the extensive region which forms its home, 

 — from New England and Minnesota to Yucatan, — it refuses 

 to be exterminated, and is perhaps more frequently seen and 

 more widely known than any other quadruped. 



All the true rabbits are small, and for long running their 

 legs are short and weak; but what they lack in endurance 



1 Lepus tex-i-an'us. i Lepus syl-vat'i-cus. 



