United States Department of Agriculture Q R A R Y 1 

 Bureau of Biological Survey I received I 



Wildlife Research and Management Lea J l ellr B l^^ili^^O 1935 "H i| 

 ; i a. Depaitmeat of AgiioHltoe \ 



Washington, D. C. * August 1935 



PLANTING FOR WILDLIFE IN THE COTTON BELT 



By W. L. McAtee, principal biologist and technical adviser '- 



Office of the Chief . •;•'>■'■: 



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Among uses to which land removed from cotton production may be put is 

 planting for wildlife. Farmers as a class enjoy hearing the cheery call of the 

 bobwhite, seeing the cottontail timorously come out to browse at dusk, or in 

 other ways sensing the presence of the wild things that help to make farm life 

 attractive. For those who wish to hunt or to permit hunting on their lands, 

 there are the additional rewards for good wildlife management—game brought to 

 bag or revenue derived from the sale of shooting privileges. In some cases 

 receipts from this source pay taxes, and where due attention is given to the 

 matter, larger revenues are possible. 



Planting for wildlife should be planned with reference to two of the 

 greatest needs of furred and feathered creatures; namely, the need for cover and 

 the need for food. Important and indispensable as food is, yet cover must 

 receive first attention, for regardless of the presence of a plenteous food 

 supply, wildlife cannot persist on land without adequate shelter from its 

 enemies and where there is no cover where the young may be safely reared. 



Cover for the majority of the small forms of wildlife means lov/, dense 

 vegetation, some of which should be tangled, or stiff and thorny, so that in 

 time of need, . the pursued can dive into it to escape the pursuer. The common 

 broomsedge, for instance, is fairly good concealing cover, but fields of it 

 are much improved for wildlife by the presence of rose or berry brier patches, 

 plum thickets, or honeysuckle tangles. 



Planting to improve cover can v/ell be made to serve a double purpose by 

 using food-producing vegetation, and a triple use by carrying it on where 

 erosion control is needed. If only gullies and waste corners of the farm are 

 planted, much can be done to increase cover for wildlife. Cover plants for 

 the Cotton Belt that are useful both as soil binders and food producers include 

 greenbriers or catbriers, blackberries, dewberries, the Cherokee rose, grape- 

 vines, Virginia creeper, and Japan honeysuckle. 



Fruit-bearing shrubs or small trees that can be used to provide cover 

 on any available land include redcedar, waxmyrtle near the coast, v/ild roses, 

 thornapples, blackberries, dewberries, wild plums, sumacs, gallberry or ink- 

 berry, wild grapes, dogwoods, blueberries, sparkleberry, beautyberry or Mexican 

 mulberry, elderberry, blackhaws and honeysuckles. 



