The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-06
JACK RABBIT ROUND UPS.
In Which Thousands Are Corralled and
Killed to save California Vineyards.


Killed to save California Vineyards.
''The people out in Fresno county,
California, are getting ready for their
annual roundup and slaughter of jack
ra bbits." said Nathan Levy, a leading
vinevardist of Fresno. eff it wasn't
for this early spring systematic raid on
those destructive pests we would have
scarcely a vineyard or an orchard left
in southern California. On one day in
March, generally between the 10th and
18th. the grape and small fruit growers
collect together in their respective dis
tricts and beat the country thoroughly
Ia drive the swarming jack rabbits
from their hiding places into immense
wire enclosed corrals, where they are
at the mercy of their pursuers, and are
knocked in the head with clubs by the
thousand | have known $1,000 jack
rabbits TO be slaughtered in this way
in few hours More than that these
abbits are such prolific breeders that
every one killed in March or April
means that there will be twenty-five or
thirty less than there would have been
If the ra bhits knocked in the head in
the spring had been permitted to live
until fall. These round-ups are the
only means we have ever discovered by
which the jack rab bit pest has been kept
down. The rabbits are undulv fond of
the young shoots of the grapevines,
when they make their appearance in
the spring, and of the tender bark of
prune, plum and other fruit trees, when
acres of vineyard ruined in a single
night by the cropping of the shoots by
these animals, and whole orchards of
valuable bearing trees killed by the
rabbits girdhng them Poison, traps
and guns failed to kill off the ra bbits
fast enough, and fruit growing in that
part of California would necessarily
have been TO a great extent abandoned
if Fresno county genius hadn't evolved
the corralling idea FIVE years ago. The
RI bbits are driven into the great wire
inclosed pound by hundreds of people
--mcn, women and children-clOsing in
around them and preventing them from
going in any other direction, except the
one that leads them into the corral.
Different districts have different DAYS
for setting ont on the roundup, and
the slaughter goes on through March
and April 1t is safe to say that 100 600
jack ra bbits are thus killed every spring
in that part OF the state. As at that
season of the year this big rabbits
flesh is in in excellent condi ton and
the animal is highly esteemed as
food, twofold benefit is derived from
this great yearly slaughter The Cali
fornia jack rabbit is the biggest rabbit
in existence. one five feet long being
not uncommon. They are as fleet as
the wind. but will sit still on their
forms or by the roadside until YOU have
almost grabbed them by their mule
like ears, but before YOU have closed
your fingers on them there will be no
rabbit there, but il you look thirty or
forty yards ahead YOU will see what
you think is another one bumped up in
a fluffy bunch, waiting for you in the
same way. But il won't be another
rabbit. 1t will be the same one They
are as swift and sudden as the feas that
swarm on them as soon as the summer
comes These feaS are so thick upon
the jack rabbit, and. are so ravenous,
that they have actually reduced the
long-eared, fourfooted jumper to
skeleton by the time the fall rains set
in. If it wasn't for those regular fall
rains the fieas would be of great service
to rs in destroying the rabbit pest. for
the rabbits could not stand out many
days longer against the assaults of the
lively parasites But the fall rains are
fatal to the tleas, The water kills them
and washes them off of the abbits and
the latter pitch in on our vineyards and
orchards and grain with sharpened APP
petiteS N. i. sun.