154 OOMMON niMTISll ANIMALS 



body. In this rabbit nursery; usually called a '^stab;" 

 the blind; naked, helpless young are born. When 

 she leaves them she scratches the earth or sand over 

 them to cover them, her great idea being to protect 

 them from the old male rabbits. She often dispenses 

 with a biirroW; and the ^' stab '^ is merely a slight 

 cavity in the ground at some distance from the main 

 colony. The eyes of the young rabbits are opened 

 on the eleventh day and the ears on the twelfth ; on 

 the thirteenth day they can erect the ears. 



"To understand the ways of wild rabbits/^ Mr. 

 Millais"^ says, " and to be on terms of the closest 

 intimacy with them, it is only necessary to climb into 

 a tree above and in front of some large burrow near 

 the edge of a Avood. As evening draws on the 

 rabbits will come out from the wood and pass under 

 your tree to the good grass beyond. From May to 

 August every year I spend three evenings a week 

 ' up a tree ' somewhere on the edge of St. Leonard's 

 Forest, and thus enjoy Nature without creating much 

 disturbance. There are various methods of shooting 

 rabbits, but none in my opinion compare with the 

 use of the '22 Winchester rifle, smokeless cartridges, 

 and a high power American telescopic sight. Your 

 shots are practically noiseless, you can select young 

 rabbits by means of the glass, and you have a 

 shooting range up to sixty yards . . . The 

 secret of success is never to move or show yourself 

 after the shot." Those who take Mr. Millais' 

 advice and spend a few evenings " up a tree '' will 

 soon learn more than books can teach. 



* ' Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland/ vol. iii, p. 47. 



