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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARMERS' BULLETIN

WASHINGTON, D. C. 702 JANUARY 17, 1916

Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, Henry W. Henshaw,
Chief.

COTTONTAIL RABBITS IN RELATION TO TREES AND FARM CROPS.

By D. E. LANTZ, _Assistant Biologist_.

[Transcriber's Note: Words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies
words in bold. Words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies
words in italics.]




CONTENTS.


                                   Page.

Introduction                           1

Habits of cottontail rabbits           2

Protection of rabbits                  3

Means of repressing rabbits            5
    Natural enemies                    5
    Hunting                            6
    Trapping                           6
    Poisoning                          9
    Bacterial diseases                10

Protection of crops from rabbits      10
    Rabbit-proof fences               10

Tree protection                       10
    Washes                            10
    Mechanical contrivances           11
    Other means                       12


NOTE.--This bulletin discusses the distribution and habits of cottontail
rabbits and methods of controlling their ravages on trees and cultivated
crops by means of trapping, poisoning, and supplying safeguards. For
general distribution.




INTRODUCTION.


Among the serious pests in orchards and tree plantations are the several
native 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[1] include the arctic and varying hares, or snowshoe
rabbits, and the jack rabbits, and are found throughout 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 Michigan, most of New York
and New England, and southward in the Appalachian Mountains, parts of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

[Footnote 1: Genus _Lepus_.]

The smaller forms,[2] generally called "cottontail rabbits," occur in
every State, but are absent from the greater part of Maine, the
northern parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin,
and Minnesota, and from the western parts of Washington and Oregon. In
recent years they have extended their range northward in the New England
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.

[Footnote 2: Genus _Sylvilagus_.]

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 (diseases
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 several years.

Traps and other devices that are effective with cottontail rabbits do
not always succeed with jack rabbits. The recommendations 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.




HABITS OF COTTONTAIL RABBITS.


Cottontail rabbits (fig. 1) are so well known that little need be said
of their habits. They breed several times each year during the warmer
months, the litters averaging five or six young. The nest is usually
placed in a hollow or depression of the ground, often in open fields or
meadows. It is composed of dead grass and warmly lined with fur which
the female pulls from her own body. The male rabbit takes no part in
caring for the young, and the female weans them as soon as they are able
to leave the nest. These animals breed so rapidly that in spite of many
natural enemies, and of the fact that they are hunted for human food,
they often become numerous enough to inflict serious losses on farmers
and fruit growers in many parts of the United States (fig. 2).

Cottontail rabbits eat all sorts of herbage--leaves, stems, flowers, and
seeds of herbaceous plants and grasses--and leaves, buds, bark, and
fruits of woody plants or trees. They usually prefer the most succulent
foods, as young shoots, tender garden