H-USN -3- 2-28-30 



According to I.Ir. Crouch there axe rabbits in every State in the 

 Union, Cottontails are more numerous east of the Mississippi. ■ We have 

 alrcad;,- tsken a shot at them so let^s cross the river at Memphis on that 

 big high bridge, and go West over in the land where both jack rabbits 

 and cottontails occur. Remember that the west side of the river is the 

 big jack rabbit country. Jack rabbits prowl around all night and sleep 

 late the next morning, so they probably took the west side of the river 



because the sun is an hour or so later getting over in that country. 



> 



Now folks, I don*t want to discourage you, but you're going to have 

 to do some running if you keep up with jack rabbits. Ira N. Oabriclson, 

 of the United States Biological Survey, got one down in a ditch one day 

 and then got in behind it with his automobile, and the speedometer regie*- 

 tered 38 miles an hour before that 20-foot ju^Tiper took a siding. 



There are several kinds of common rabbits in the East but the 

 cottontail is more common. There are several kinds of jack rabbit 

 the West, but the black-tailed jack and his cousin the white-tailed jack 

 seem to be more prevalent. This black-tailed jack thrives in the moury-' 

 tain section while the white- tailed jp.ck stays closer to prairies and 

 civilization'. The black- tailed jack will be found prosperous and hn.ppy 

 far out on scab rock covered with scanty sagebrush. He'll thrive just 

 as well in a rocky section where sheep sharpen their noses so they c?ji 

 get the grass from between the rocks, as another rabbit will down in the 

 valley living on some farmer's grain field, alfalfa crop, or watermelon 

 patch,. 



Droughts or bad winters don't bother jack rabbits a great deal 

 because they can take a few leaps and be in a new section where food is 

 both handy and plentiful. The fact that they can live on "sagebrush" as 

 one farmer put it, amd change locations so rapidly, makes them hard to 

 handle, 



Now, how are we going to get rid of this enemy which slips into 

 the baxnyard, and gnaws the bottoms and sides of the haystacks until they 

 turn over, while he is waiting for green crops to be ready to eat in 

 the spring? 



TTell, one thing is certain. No ordinary dog is going to catch 

 many of these logg-eared jumpers, and eagles and haydcs can't handle the 

 situation, so man v/ill h-ave to take a hand, because jack rabbits pxe too 

 nui?'c-?o;55/i?t?-'-g§fl&°sections of the West. Twelve jack rabbits will oat 

 as much green forage as a 120-pound ewe sheep, and 59 will eat as much 

 as a 750-po"und cow. 



Rabbit drives, rabbit poison, and rabbit hunts seem to be the 

 general control methods meeting with the greatest success. However, 

 last year the Biological Survey aided in working up a market for the 

 rabbit skins. These broijght from 15 to 45 cents each, and this result- 

 ed in the sale of more than 8,000,000 skins, bringing about $2,000,000, 

 If a market like this can be retained, the j:amping jack will have to 

 look out for their skins. A skin demand at that price will soon solve 

 the jack rabbit problem. 



