322 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



destructive, congregating in large numbers in isolated 

 fields and ruining the crop. In the great melon-growing 

 regions they often cause the loss of crops by destroying 

 young cantaloupe and watermelon plants, and in gardens 

 everywhere they are . especially destructive to peas and 

 cabbage. The greatest damage in orchards is likely to be 

 done to comparatively young trees, although in many apple- 

 growing regions Rabbits are recognized as a pest always to 

 be guarded against. 



The strong hind feet are the only weapons of offense 

 with which the rabbits are provided, but their structure, 

 habits, and instincts enable them to escape to a large 

 extent the attacks of their many enemies. With keen eyes 

 so set in the head as to include a large field of vision, with 

 large ears to detect the slightest sound, with a coloring 

 that makes them almost invisible amid their natural sur- 

 roundings, accompanied by an instinct to keep quiet most 

 of the time, and with long legs adapted to rapid running, 

 rabbits are well equipped in their struggle for life. For- 

 tunately for mankind, however, many of their natural 

 enemies are able to penetrate their disguises or overtake 

 them as they run, so that rabbits furnish food for a consid- 

 erable number of mammals and birds. Wolves, foxes, 

 wild cats, badgers, weasels, and other carnivorous mammals 

 live largely upon rabbits, while practically all the larger 

 hawks and owls prey freely upon them. In wild regions 

 these various natural enemies serve an important purpose 

 in keeping a balance in rabbit life, but in cultivated regions 

 such enemies often become so scarce as to be less important. 

 As people learn the real value of certain hawks and owls 

 as destroyers of rabbits, mice, and other mammals, they 

 will probably learn to discriminate between friends and foes 

 among birds of prey. 



