416 SOME FOUR-FOOTED PESTS OF THE FARM 



and placing them about orchard or nursery or in rabbit runways 

 elsewhere. Be sure that the buds are poisoned. This method is 

 applicable in winter or spring, and has an advantage over the 

 first-mentioned method in that it does not endanger the lives of 

 birds and other valuable animals. 



Rabbits killed by poisoning should be collected and buried 

 or burned, so that the poisoned carcasses may do no harm. The 

 strychnine itself should be carefully guarded and kept out of reach 

 of children. 



Repellent washes against rabbits, upon tree trunks and shrub- 

 bery, are strongly recommended in order to prevent the ravages 

 of the cottontail. One application may be made in the fall and 

 perhaps another on a warm day in winter or in early spring. A 

 heavy whitewash, made a deep blue by the addition of bluestone 

 solution, is excellent. Washes should not be allowed to freeze, 

 and therefore should not be applied in severe weather. 



A poison wash for the trunks of young trees, used effectively 

 in Idaho against jack-rabbits, is recommended. The recipe for 

 making it is as follows: Dissolve one ounce of strychnia sulfate 

 in three quarts of boiling water. Dissolve one-half pound of 

 laundry starch in one pint of cold water, stirring thoroughly. 

 Pour the starch into the vessel containing the strychnine and boil 

 the mixture a short time until the starch is clear. Add six ounces 

 of glycerine and stir. When the paste is cool enough, apply to 

 tree trunks with a paint brush. 



Certain colloid substances are on the market which promise 

 to afford good vehicles for strychnia, and which will last on trunk 

 and branches for a long period. 



Shooting and Driving Jack-Rabbits. Jack-rabbits are also 

 killed by shooting from wagons or automobiles. Rabbit drives 

 are of common occurrence in the West, a large number of neigh- 

 bors, mounted or in wagons, cooperating. The animals, some- 

 times thousands in number, are forced*into a corral and killed. 



Rabbit Guards. Mechanical guards of various kinds are also 

 used to keep off rabbits. These may be of paper, but tarred paper 

 will sometimes kill young trees. We may use wire screen (Fig. 

 401) or wood veneer (Fig. 402). The writer has successfully used 

 several thicknesses of newspaper, tied securely about the trunk. 

 Heavy building paper or cornstalks used in the same way are 

 efficacious. All of these guards should extend a few inches into 

 the ground, in order to form a barrier against mice, and should 



