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Show WILD RABBIT IS ' VALUABLE ASSET Each Year Fully 200,000,000 of Little Animals Are Killed in United States. FUR IS IN STRONG DEMAND Value of Pelts Will Be Further Increased In-creased This Year on Account of Embargo Placed 'on Importation Importa-tion of All Skins. - The game commission of Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania estimated that in 1917, during the open season of 45 days, fully 3,500,-000 3,500,-000 rabbits were killed and utilized for food in that state. Making due allowance allow-ance for overestimates in only one 6tate, It is safe to say that each ye.ar fully 200,000,000 wild rabbits are killed in the United States. Many of them are jack rabbits, the majority of which have been utilized in the past. If ell the rabbits killed were consumed, they would represent between 200,000 and 300,000 tons of valuable food, according ac-cording to specialists of the United States department of agriculture. The skins of these wild rabbits are a valuable asset, as they can be used for hatters' fur and glue. The war has caused a great shortage of hatters' fur from other countries. Last winter the price of native rabbit skins rose steadilv from 20 or 25 cents to 70 and even 90 cents a pound at the close of the season. It takes 6 to 8 dry skins of the cottontail rabbit to make a pound. This makes the present value of the pelt of the smaller rabbit 10 to 12 cents and that of the jack rabbit 18 to 20 cents. These values will be further increased because of the embargo em-bargo that has been placed on the importation im-portation of furs. Save the Skins. If proper measures are taken to ln-ure ln-ure the collection of skins the shortage short-age of hatters' fur can be largely met by the wild supply. If all households that use rabbits for food and every marketman who dresses rabbits can be Induced to save and dry the skins the present home production of hatters' fur can be more than doubled next season. sea-son. The prices pay well for the slight labor needed to prepare them for market. mar-ket. Men can make excellent wages skinning the Jack rabbits that are destroyed as pests In our Western Ktatos, and that have hitherto been wasted. At only 10 cents each the Kklns of the 200,000,000 rabbits killed In the United States have a value of $20,000,000. The organized drive, In which every rabbit caught may be utilized as food, Is being encouraged wherever practicable prac-ticable as a means of conserving meat and protecting crops from their depredations. depre-dations. While the fur of our wild rabbits rloes not make the finest hats, and the manufacturers of these are dependent on nutria, riuskrat, and beaver clippings, clip-pings, the use of these finer bats will probably decline and they will be replaced re-placed by those made of rabbit fur. There Is a strong demand for all the rabbit skins that can he collected In America. Kansas Firm's Contribution. T.ait winter n firm In Kansas rlr-v..".-d ami shipped I.IT.OOO Jack rab-- rab-- bits, or 275 tons of m-f. The skins were nil saved and marketed, making fin Important Item In the profits. A large extension of the business Is (.binned for the coming season, and II. Is expected that many similar enter-prb'c( enter-prb'c( will be developed In various j, arts of the West. Those activities .III Insure a much larger saving of Jii'l: rabbit c.l.lii". than In the past. |