Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1893-04-13
JACK RABBIT ROUND UPS.
Ia which Thousands Are CorrAiied ana
Killed to save California v~Iseysrds

10 which Thousand. Are Corr.lIed and
Killed to save California vIseysrds
The people out in Fresno county,
California, are getting ready for their
annual roundup and slaughter Of jack
rabbits said Nathan Levy. a leading
vineyardist of Fresno IF IL wasn't
for this early spring systematic raid on
those destructive pests we would have
scarcely a vineyard r an orchard Left
in southern California On n day in
March, generally between the 10th q
18th. the grape and small fruit growers
collect together ia their respective dis
tricts and beat the country thoroughly
TO drive the swarming jack rabbits
from their hiding places into immense
wire enclosed c~orralS, where they are
at the mercy Of their purSucrS and are
knocked in the head with clubs By the
thousand | have known $4,000 jack
rabbits to be slaughtered ia this way
in a few hours More than that these
rabbits 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 rabbits 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 bT
which the jack rabbit pest has been kept
down The rabbits are unduly fond OF
the young shoots Of the g~rapevines.
when they make their appearance in
the spring. and of the tender bark OF
prune. plum and other fruit trees when
the sap starts ! have known twenty
acres Of vineyard ruined IN = single
night by the cropping of the shoots BY
these animals. and whole orchards Of
valuable bearing trees killed by the
rabbits girilinx them Poison. traps
and guns failed 20 kill of the rabbits
fast enough. and fruit growing IN hat
part % California would necessarily
have been to a great extent abandoned
If a Fresno county genius hadn't evolved
the eoFralliu- idea five years aga The
rabbits are driven into the gres; wire
i=elosed PouEd By husdreds OF people
men. women and children-losiag IN
around them aud preventing them from
going in aay other direction except the
one that leads them into the cu~rzL
d ferent districts have different days
for setting out Ga the roa1d-ap. and
the slaughter zoes on through March
and April Il i safe 10 sav that ieo. coo
ack rabbits are thus killed every spring
n that part q the state A. AZ that
season Of the year this bag rabbits
iesh j. in in excellent condition and
the animal i highly esteemed a.
food a twosold bene6t Is derived from
thls great yearly slaughter The Cali
fornis jack rabbit i the biggest rabbit
in existence. one fre feet long heing
not They are as feet a
the wind bat will At still on their
forms or by the roadside until you have
almost grabbed them By their mule
ike Far but before yoa have closed
your fingers on them there viii be no
rabbit there. bat If you look thirty or
forty yards ahead you VIII SEC what
you think i another one bumped up in
a fluffy bunch. waiting for you ia the
same way But IL won't be another
rabbit II viii be the same one. TESy
are IS swift ard sudden as the fieaS that
swarm on them a soon as the summer
comes These feas are 50 thick upon
the jack rabbit, and are 50
that they have actually reduced the
long-eared- foar-footed jumper 10 q
skeleton by the time the fall rains set
IN II IL wasn't for those regular fall
rains theh eas would be of greatserviee
To rs in destroying the rabbit pest, for
the rabbits could not stand out many
days longer against the assaults Of the
lively parasites Boz the fall rains are
fatal To the reaS The water kills them
and washes them off of the rabbits and
the latter pitch in OF our vineyards and
orchards and grain with sharpened ap-
pctiteA-\. y. sun