HARDWICKE'G SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



75 



OUR WINNIE. 



YABIOUS have been the creatures from the 

 animal kingdom— to wit the two " Pliaraohs" 

 of 1872— the record of whose lives have appeared 

 from time to time ia the pages of Science-Gossip. 



My jottings will not appertain to the bird of the 

 night, whose similitude occupies so conspicuous a 

 place upon the front of our interesting monthly, but 

 to one of the quadrupeds represented to the right 

 of the mystic bird— the scared burrower but 

 partially represented, the common type of our 

 rodents. To begin, our pet was presented to me 

 when three months old, and was deemed by con- 

 noisseurs a beauty, though its breed, a mixed one, 

 I cannot determine. Suffice it to say " bunny " 

 was of the feminine gender, had dark fawn ears, 

 feef, and tail, with a long, thin dark streak on the 

 nose, the rest of the body being pure white, with 

 eyes matching those of the common tame rabbit, a 

 bright pink. The title of this subject has already 

 shown the name bestowed upon the strange 

 accessory to our household ; and very soon Winnie 

 was at home running an appointed period about the 

 kitchen or grass plot during the day, and reposing 

 in a box provided indoors by night. In a short 

 time it was found impossible to keep up the creature, 

 excepting when all was still and dark ; by tooth and 

 nail egress from confinement was generally obtained, 

 and satisfaction gained by joining our company 

 whether up or down stairs, in short, our experience 

 was the same as that expressed by Cowper, who 

 said of his hare, " happier in human society than 

 when shut up with lier natural companions." 



Numberless were the tricks, and surprising the 

 sagacity shown by Winnie. If out of doors, it was 

 most amusing to watch her frisk on the grass, run 

 round the walks, and all at once slily nip the lower 

 end of a peony stalk, ending in the downfall of the 

 glaring flower ; but this, observed either by my 

 husband, who often encoui'aged a repetition of 

 "bunny's" propensity, or myself, was sure to end 

 the furlough, and render immediate capture by hand 

 necessary. Then came the tug of war, Winnie 

 popping through the garden hedge into the field, 

 and so sure as I passed by the wicket, " bunny " 

 was back again, and vice versa, until I had the 

 help of a domestic. Indoors she would leap into 

 my husband's lap, licking his hands or face, and 

 would repose there for some time, well content if 

 the ears or forehead were gently rubbed with the 

 finger ; she also became attached to a young relative 

 staying with us. Dogs she did not appear to be 

 afraid of, and as a favourite resort was the hearth- 

 rug in ray husband's office, once or twice she 

 encountered those enemies there. In one instance a 

 friend with a spaniel stayed some time, and upon 

 leaving, " bunny," who had never stirred from her 

 couchant position on the hearth, sprung at the dog 



as he was quietly leaving the room ; at another time 

 a greyhound stalked close past, but no apparent 

 notice was taken by either. She was regarded by 

 us much the same as the dog is in ordinary domestic 

 life, and eventually had the run of the house, going 

 up or down stairs as inclination led, meeting us 

 after absence, and drumming the floor for recogni- 

 tion if not immediately noticed, calling forth the 

 wonder of many strangers, who never supposed 

 such sagacity and frolic existed in an animal 

 so timorous by nature. As to diet, the usual herbs 

 were given when obtainable, the casual handful of 

 young clover culled during the evening walk, or the 

 succulent dandelion or lettuce gathered, with an 

 occasional turnip or carrot, formed the staple food, 

 and for a standing dish a box of bran at night, with 

 milk each morning, into which a little sugar had 

 been dissolved, with the addition of a little warm 

 tea in winter from the breakfast-table. Sweet 

 bread, especially if it contained currants, or had a 

 little preserved fruit upon it, was esteemed, the 

 creature sitting up for it to be presented; and" the 

 endeavours made to obtain fruit when placed a little 

 out of reach, or in folds of paper, were most 

 amusing. Upon one occasion some young friends 

 were rather chagrined by observing " bunny " stand 

 up and deliberately reach from a plate opposite a 

 very hot fire a portion of the muffin destined for 

 their share ; at another time the servant having 

 placed a rolled pudding upon the kitchen fender, 

 preparatory to placing it in the oven, upon return 

 after five minutes' absence ; found a large hole in the 

 outer dough and some jam extracted. After this 

 "bunny" attended when pastry was made, and 

 generally had a small portion allotted for her use. 

 As Winnie grew older, like other mammals, she 

 became more grave, and indulged less in those frisky 

 leaps so peculiar to rabbits, would sit for hours 

 alone, and was rather indignant if disturbed by an 

 unknown hand, striking out with the fore feet at 

 the intruder. The usual fate of most pets, alas, 

 attended her: injury caused, we had every reason 

 to surmise, by a careless domestic, ended Winnie's 

 days. My husband and I, after doing all we could 

 far into the night to assist the poor creature, 

 witnessed her death, feeling we had lost as agree, 

 able and social a pet as any of the usual quadrupeds 

 introduced into our dwellings, having shared it with 

 us for nearly seven years. 



A few lines more and my history ends, a word by 

 way of caution to those who might follow us in 

 zoology. It takes time to teach the creature cleanly 

 habits. To some extent this may be done, the dark 

 corner sprinkled with sand may almost invariably 

 be used, and little nuisance caused by management. 

 The great difficulty is to keep rodents from trying 

 their sharp incisors upon things in the way : if a bit 

 of paper chances to be frayed from the wall, and 

 within reach, it is sure to be enlarged ; a hole in the 



