174 



THE GAME BREEDER 



a common standard are not reflected in 

 some way in the bird's habits and man- 

 ners ; but how, we are still ignorant. 

 Nothing accounting for these peculiari- 

 ties has yet been learned ; and yet there 

 must be some traits that, for their pro- 

 per exhibition, require the special modi- 

 fication that we find. These individual- 

 izing traits offer an inviting field for in- 

 vestigation. Mr. Cassin has, perhaps, 

 taken the initiative toward such discov- 



ery, in an observation founded upon 

 consideration of the bird's colors. "The 

 circular spots," he says, "which are 

 numerous on the inferior parts of the 

 body in this partridge, appear to indicate 

 as a character an analogy to the guinea- 

 fowls, which is further sustained by its 

 habit of uttering its note continually 

 when in company with its fellows or 

 when feeding." — Ellicot Cones, Birds of 

 the Nortlnvcst. 



COTTONTAIL RABBITS IN RELATION TO TREES AND 



FARM CROPS. 



By D. E. Lantz, Assistant Biologist, 

 U. S. Biological Survey. 



Among the serious pests in orchards 

 and tree plantations are the several na- 

 tive species of rabbits. These animals 

 do considerable damage to garden truck 

 and other farm crops also, especially 

 on lands recently opened to cultivation. 

 North American rabbits belong to two 

 general classes easily distinguished by 

 their size and habits. 



The larger forms include the arctic 

 and varying hares, or snowsh'oe rabbits, 

 and jack rabbits, and are found through- 

 out nearly all of Alaska and Canada and 

 in all the states west of the Mississippi 

 except Arkansas and Louisiana. East of 

 the Mississippi they inhabit the northern 

 parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Mich- 

 igan, most of New York and New Eng- 

 land, and southward in the Appalachian 

 mountains, parts of Pennsylvania, Mary- 

 land and Virginia. 



The smaller forms, generally called 

 "cottontail rabbits," occur in every state, 

 but are absent from the greater part of 

 Maine, the northern parts of New Hamp- 

 shire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, 

 Wisconsin and Minnesota, and from the 

 western parts of Washington and Ore- 

 gon. In recent \ears they have extended 

 their range northward in the New Eng- 

 land States, New York, and portions of 

 the West, and have invaded and occupied 

 a considerable part of the Province of 

 Ontario. In habits they differ materially 



from the larger rabbits. They live in 

 copses and thickets more than in open 

 fields. The young are born blind, naked 

 and helpless, while those of the larger 

 rabbits have the eyes open, are partially 

 furred, and active when born. 



Rabbits of both genera, however, feed 

 exclusively on vegetation, and are at 

 times harmful to crops and especially to 

 trees. Because of their size and great 

 abundance in parts of their range, jack 

 rabbits are by far the most destructive, 

 but, except in a few places where they 

 have been introduced, none are found 

 east of. the Mississippi. Epizootics (dis- 

 eases which attack many animals at the 

 same time) are an effectual natural check 

 and after such attack occurs jack rabbits 

 are usually so reduced in numbers that 

 they are not troublesome again for sev- 

 eral years. 



Traps and other devices that are ef- 

 fective with cottontail rabbits do not al- 

 ways succeed with jack rabbits. The rec- 

 ommendations contained in this bulletin 

 will, therefore, apply only to cottontail 

 rabbits, but they may suggest methods 

 that, with modifications, may be used 

 against the larger forms. 



Cottontail rabbits are so well known 

 that little need be said of their hab- 

 its. They breed several times each 

 year during the warmer months, the lit- 

 ters averaging five or six young. The 



