168 ANIMAL COMPETITORS 
culent food is usually abundant, this is not a 
difficult task, and they soon adapt themselves 
to an independent life. Apparently the mother 
takes no further interest in the career of her 
offspring. The male parent is probably never 
concerned in the care of the young. 
Injury to gardens and orchards. The cot- 
tontail is fond of frequenting farms and planta- 
tions, and having taken up its residence in some 
chosen fence-corner or thicket remains near it, 
feeding upon the succulent vegetables in the 
farmer’s garden, or the clover, turnips, or corn 
in his fields. In the fall it feasts upon apples, 
cabbages, turnips, and the like left exposed in 
garden and orchard, and in winter, when all 
else is frozen hard or covered with snow,. it 
turns its attention to twigs and bark of woody 
plants. The other rabbits have similar habits, 
varying with the environment. In the West 
some of the smaller kinds live largely in the 
abandoned burrows of prairie-dogs, badgers, 
and other animals. 
Rabbits feed upon nearly all growing crops, 
but the damage to small grains is usually so 
slight as to pass unnoticed. Clover and al- 
