R-USN 



2-28-30 



sissippi. Their only good fe&tiir^ is the fact that they are good to 

 eat and that it is sport to htmt themi ?niere they are too plentiful, 

 they should "be reduced in numbers to insure the safety of crops. How 

 can this "be done? 



Before I answer that question, let me tell you something else. 

 Peter I^ahhit is keen and has a swift foot. He can give a dog a merry 

 chase, and cause a hunter to say ugly words. Cottontail rabbits are 

 *dead-ga.'ie ' sports, and farmer boys sind sporting men like to hunt them, 

 because they are evasive, tricky, and often put a hunter to a real test. 

 As a result of this trait sportsmen in many of the States east of the 

 Mississippi have brought about favorable legislation to protect tlie 

 cottontail rabbits. On one side we have the sportsman wanting to keep 

 the rabbits, and on the other side the farmer wanting to kill eVdry last 

 one because they destroy crops. Well, that question is a lot more easily 

 settled than the question of reducing our ba,ttleships. The farmer can 

 kill, catch, capture, and scare all the cottontail: rabbits he can, rjid 

 the sportsman can raise more dogs and buy more guns, but when they both 

 get through we'll still have rabbits nibbling alfalfa, eating cabbr^^e, 

 bitin" off sweet-potato plants and gnawing apple trees* Cottontail 

 rabbits breed several times each year dviring the v;arra season, and the 

 litters averr«ge 5 or 6 young rabbits. They o^re born blind, naked, and 

 helpless, but they got out of that stage in a hxirry if there is a clover 

 patch near by, 



TTow let^s get rid of the cottontails where there are too many. 

 ITobody knows the best way, but here are some ways that may help. Eagles, 

 owls, large hawks, wildcats, foxes, dogs, minks, and even housecats are 

 sometimes fortunate enough to capture a cottontail. 



Hunting has been the most important factor in keeping down rabbits, 

 generally speaking. Late in the afternoon, or after rains in the surar.-.er, 

 rabbits hop out of thickets to investigate the farmer's patch of I'lanu-aoth 

 YelJjow soybeans, and you may shoot them at that time if the law pennits 

 and you are a good marksman. 



P^bbits are easily trapped, and this may help, but it would take 

 a long time to trap them aJLl. Mri Crouch thinks they woiald breed and 

 multiply in the summer faster than youxould trap them. 



Poisoning is a successful way of getting rid of rabbits, but you 

 I.:UST BE CAREFUL HOW AlTD WHEIffi THE POISOIT BAIT IS PLACED. IT'S JUST AS 

 POISOITOUS TO YOUH FAHL! AliriALS AS IT IS TO THE RAHBIT. Use poisoned bait 

 in f.:e winter or after long droughts in the summer have made green food 

 scarce. It isunlawful to use poison to destroy rabbits in most Stabes 

 where they are classed as game. 



YoTong trees are subjected to inquiry by cottontail rabbits rirobably 

 to a larger extent than other crops, and this injury maj/- be stopped by 

 the use of mechanical protection around the tree^*; 



Farmers' Bulletin No. 702-F, entitled "COTTONTAIL RABBITS IN RE- 

 LATION TO Ti?SES AND FAR1.I CROPS," contains more information on this subject. 



