26 BULLETIN 305, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



necessary for it to eat the green bark of young fruit trees in winter. 

 Study cottontails to be able to answer the following questions : 



(1) What kind of track does the cottontail make? Can you tell which way i 



is going? 



(2) What time of day does it move about? 



(3) How does it spend the day? 



(4) What are the two most noticeable peculiarities of the rabbit? (Ears, hind 



legs.) 



(5) How does the rabbit hold its ears — when resting? When startled? When 



not certain about the direction of the noise? When running? 



(6) How does the rabbit move its head to detect a scent? Observe and explain 



movements of its nostrils. Note the upper lip, the teeth, whiskers — 

 uses? Eyes — why so placed? 



(7) Compare front and hind legs. How do they differ and why? Front and 



hind feet. 



(8) Describe the coat. How does the rabbit escape being seen? What is 



meant by a rabbit "freezing"? 



(9) What land of nest has the cottontail? What it is it called? Form. 



(10) What are some of the cottontail's enemies? How does it escape them? 



Do rabbits fight? How? How do they show anger? With which foot 

 do they stamp? 



(11) What do cottontails eat at this season of the year? 



(12) Let some member of the class capture a cottontail in a box trap and bring 



it to school in a wire cage for study. Are there white rabbits at any of 

 the homes of the community? Compare the white rabbit and the cotton- 

 tail. 



Spiders are engineers. They build suspension bridges, aeroplanes, 

 and balloons. They are of great value to man since they destroy 

 millions of injurious insects every year, such as flies, mosquitoes, 

 bugs, and grasshoppers. There is not so much danger from their 

 bite as is often thought. Study cobwebs in the school building and 

 in the homes this month to learn the following facts : 



(1) Is the web a sheet or a mass of crisscross tangled threads? How are the 



threads held in place? 



(2) What is the purpose of the web? Describe the place where the spider 



hides. 



(3) Entangle a fly or other insect in the web and watch the spider. What does 



he do with the fly? 



(4) Imprison a spider in a small bottle. Examine carefully to note the number 



of legs, sections of the body, and pairs of eyes. 



Practical work. — Looking for and recording facts concerning new 

 birds and wild mammals, and studying and recording facts with 

 reference to the cottontail and house spider give an abundance of 

 class work. 



At least one cottontail and a number of house spiders should be 

 made captive and brought to school. Some member of the class 

 should make a box trap and catch a rabbit for study. He should be 

 put into a small cage made of chicken wire and brought to school. 

 Do not keep him in captivity long. The spiders should be placed in 



