1 152 VARIOUS 



incubation of the eggs and the transfer of the fry to public waters. The 

 canton of Valais is not comprised in the above figures, as the establishments 

 in that canton did not make any application with a view to obtaining 

 a federal subsid3^ No fish breeding was carried on during that year 

 in the canton of Appenzell Rh. Int. The Swiss fisheries and fish 

 breeding Society received a federal subsidy of about £ 120. Similarly 

 to other riparian States, the Swiss Confederation made a grant of £ 12 

 to the International Union of Fishers of the I,ake of Constance, for the ex- 

 pense of stocking that lake in 1915. In the same year Swiss fishermen took 

 from that lake, including the lower lake, 331 573 lbs. of fish of a value of 

 over £ 9800 (in 1914, 322443 lb of a value of over £ 9284). 



The number of fishery guards in the service of the cantons was 161 dur- 

 ing the year 1915, aided temporarily by 19 assistants. These agents receiv- 

 ed, b^' way of salary, attendance and travelling allowances, a total sum of 

 £ 4363 (£ 4262 in 1914), of which the Confederation took upon itself £2182 

 (£ 2131 in 1914), or 50 % in accordance with the law. The cantons also 

 expended £ 18 (£ 21 in 1914) for the destruction of animals injurious to fish- 

 eries, but the Confederation refunded about £i5(£9ini9i4). 



A course of instruction was given in Lucerne from the 22nd to the 27th 

 February for water bailiffs. 



Fish ladders were established in the vicinity of various works (August- 

 W^den, lyaufenbourg) along the Rhine, as well as near the hydraulic power 

 stations of Perlen, in Reuss. Refuges for fish have, in accordance with the 

 instructions of the Swiss Home Office, been built along the altered bed of 

 the Wina, between Reinach and Gotenschwil, on account of the re- 

 clamation of the marshes there. 



The federal legislation on fisheries has undergone no change. The regu- 

 lations of the 2nd May 1913 on fishing in the boundarj^ waters between 

 Switzerland and Italy was slightly modified by decree of the 2nd July 191. 5 



894 - Cross between a Wild and a Domesticated Fur Rabbit in order to obtain a 



Good Fur. — Zimmermann R., m Berliner Ticrdrztliche Wochenschrift, Year, 32, No. 18, 

 p. 213. Berlin, May 4, 191 6. 



For some years past experiments have been carried out in Germany by 

 the writer with a view to obtaining a rabbit combining the following three 

 qualities : [a) a fur superior to that of the common domesticated rabbit ; 

 (&) good meat ; and (c) high resistance to disease. The results hitherto 

 have been as follows. 



i) By crossing a wild male (^rey coat) with a female of the French 

 silvered breed (black coat with a few white hairs) and a female of the Ger- 

 man breed " Edelweiss " (Albino), the offspring were 10 in number, 4 males 

 and 6 females. All the 10 offspring were grey in colour and their physical 

 conformation was that of the wild sire, but thej^ were bigger. Ther meat is 

 lighter but clearly suggests the wild meat. The fur is more supple than 

 that of the sire. 



The writer still has i male and 2 females of this litter ; the other ani- 

 mals were either sold to breeders or killed. These 3 individuals have re- 

 tained the timidity characteristic of the wild rabbit. 



