Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. 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_.]