CHAPTER AXXVITT. 
SUPPRESSION OF INJURIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS.. 
The beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are some- 
times such grievous trespassers upon the fruit plantation that 
protection has to be sought against them. The animals which 
figure in this evil work are mainly species of rodentia, some of 
them burrowers, as, for example, the ground-squirrel and 
gopher; others, surface dwellers, like the hare or jackass rabbit. 
Occasionally there is injury done by deer in the orchard and 
vineyard, and coons in the melon patch, but these larger animals 
may usually be left to the hunters and the dogs. 
RABBITS. 
‘Though there are three species prevalent, none are burrow- 
ers. This fact has led to united efforts at their suppression by 
driving them, with mounted horsemen, from a wide stretch of 
country into a narrow, fenced inclosure, where they are killed 
with clubs. During the last few years tens of thousands have 
been killed in this way, and comparatively few are now found 
in the localities where the method has been adopted. Still, 
however, there are plenty at large to vex the fruit planter, and 
he must protect himself against them. 
Rabbit Fences—The surest protection against rabbits is a 
fence which prevents their entrance, and many miles of such 
fence have been built in this State. Several styles prevail. The 
ordinary board fence, with the boards running horizontally, is 
made rabbit-proof by placing the lower boards close together, 
with openings of but about two inches between them. A barbed 
wire, with barbs about two and one-half inches apart, can be 
used to advantage by running it along at or a little below the 
surface of the ground to prevent scratching under. 
The cost of board fences has led to the use of barbed wire 
and wire netting, 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 
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