RABBIT FENCE AND POISON 537 



The cost of board fences has led to the use of barbed wire and 

 wire nettings, or of perpendicular slats interwoven with wire. Such 

 materials are sold in large quantities. A very effective combination 

 of barbed wire and netting, which is used in the upper San Joaquin 

 Valley, is described as follows : 



The tall posts are regular split redwood posts. The intermediate small ones 

 are made by sawing in two the regular posts and splitting them into eight small 

 posts, or rather, large stakes. The netting is of galvanized wire, No. 19 gauge, 

 and one and one-half inch mesh. This netting is stapled to the posts and stakes 

 on the inside, or toward the field. This is of prime importance, as it will not 

 serve the purpose if it is placed on the outside. The bottom of the netting 

 is to come down to the ground, and the ground must be left hard, and not 

 plowed to prevent burrowing or scratching the dirt from underneath, which 

 can be easily done if the dirt is softened up. It is not at all necessary to set 

 the netting below the ground. In the sketch are shown three barbed wires, 

 with barbs two and a half inches apart. These wires must be placed on the 

 outside of the posts. This position is also a prime necessity. The lower 

 wire is stretched just clear of the surface of the ground. The middle wire 

 is one inch higher than the top of the netting, and the top wire, which is 

 intended only as against cattle, is at a height suitable for the purpose. The 

 rabbit-proof portion is comprised in the netting and the two lower wires. 

 Hence, if cattle are not feared, and rabbits are the only foe, the top wire can 

 be dispensed with, and the posts can be all short with a greater proportion 

 of stakes, having only enough stout posts to stand the strain of the wires. 

 The theory of this construction is that a rabbit can only pass the fence over 

 the top or under the bottom of the netting, and this is effectually prevented 

 by the barbed wires, which tear the animal if it attempts either to leap or 

 climb over or to scratch under. 



Smears Distasteful to Rabbits. Where the expense of a fence 

 can not be assumed, measurable protection can be had by sprinkling 

 the leaves or smearing the stems of plants with substances dis- 

 tasteful to the animals, which are quite dainty in this respect. Com- 

 mercial aloes, one pound to four gallons of water, both sprinkled on 

 leaves and painted on the bark, gives a bitter taste, which repels 

 rabbits. A tea made of steeping quassia chips is said to produce the 

 same effect. Rancid grease, liquid manure, putrescent flesh or blood, 

 have been approved as a daub for tree trunks, but the efficacy is 

 only of limited duration. 



Rabbit Poison. Pieces of watermelon rind, cantaloupe, or other 

 vegetable of which they are very fond, may be poisoned with 

 strychnine and then scattered around the orchard. Rabbits will not 

 touch the bark as long as they can find this bait, and one meal is 

 effective, for the rabbit never gets far away from it. The same re- 

 sults can be obtained by the following mixture : To one hundred 

 pounds of wheat take nine gallons of water and one pound of phos- 

 phorus, one pound of sugar, and one ounce of oil of rhodium. Heat 

 the water to boiling point and let it stand all night. Next morning 

 stir in flour sufficient to make a sort of paste. The rabbits eat it 

 with avidity if scattered about. 



