EPIDEMICS. 45 



Baker, where there were scarcely any wolves, the hares were very 

 common." 



The coyote is a most effective rabbit destroyer and accomplishes 

 more good in this way than he usually receives credit for. His true 

 value, however, is beginning to be appreciated by fruit growers. The 

 following notes contributed by Mr. Vernon Bailey show how coyotes 

 sometimes prey on jack rabbits. Mr. Bailey says: 



In trapping on the greasewood flats about Keltou, in northern Utah, during the 

 latter part of October, 1888, I noticed in mauy places that jack rabbits {Lepus 

 texiatius) had been killed and eaten by some animal. The feet, bits of skin, and fur 

 were usually all that remained, but I immediately attributed this destructioa to 

 coyotes, and later on was able to verify the conclusion by finding remains of rabbits 

 surrounded by fresh coyote tracks. In a walk of a mile it was common to see where 

 a dozen had been eaten, and I could even see where the coyotes had run and caught 

 the rabbits. I was surprised at the number killed, although both rabbits and 

 coyotes were numerous. As I walked through the brush jack rabbits would jump 

 lip and run every few minutes, and coyotes were frequently seen. In this particular 

 spot the numerous bunches of greasewood (Sarcobatus) scattered over the smooth 

 valley bottom gave the coyotes a great advantage, enabling them to approach close 

 to the rabbits and probably catch them before they got fairly started. It is very 

 doubtful if a coyote can catch a jack rabbit in a fair race on open ground. 



About five years ago the State of California offered a bounty of $5 

 each for coyote scalps. The act was passed March 31, 1891, and pro- 

 vided that such scalps should be deposited with the clerk of the board 

 of supervisors of the county in which the animal was taken, within three 

 months after the date of capture, and must be accompanied by an affi- 

 davit showing the time and place that the animal was killed. The law 

 practically remained in force up to September 30, 1892, when the State 

 board of examiners refused to pass on any claims for scalps taken sub- 

 sequent to that date. The State controller reports that the sum paid 

 for scalps during the eighteen months that the law remained in effect 

 was $187,485, and that up to June 30, 1894, no less than 71,723 coyote 

 scalps had been i)resen ted, with claims for bounty amounting to $358,615. 

 This immense destruction of coyotes has permitted the increase of the 

 smaller animals on which they feed. Complaints have been made 

 that the rabbits are increasing in numbers and that the damage done 

 by them is greater than that caused by the coyotes. As already stated, 

 the county of San Bernardino in 1893 offered the unusually high bounty 

 of 20 cents apiece on the rabbits, which, as a result of this wholesale 

 destruction of coyotes, had so greatly increased in numbers. In this 

 remarkable case of legislation a large bounty was offered by a county 

 in the interest of fruit growers to counteract the effects of a State 

 bounty expended mainly for the benefit of sheep owners ! 



EPIDEMICS. 



Jack rabbits are subject to epidemics, which occasionally reduce 

 their numbers very materially. These outbreaks are more or less local, 

 but are reported every few years. According to Mr. George Watkins, 



