May 10, 1831. 



W. Yarrell, Esq. in the Chair. 



A letter, addressed by Ricliard Thursfield, Esq. to Dr. RootB,' 

 was read, in illustration of the history of a hybrid between the Hare 

 and the Rabbit, which was lately living at the Society's Farm. A 

 gentleman who was rtaring a p<iir of" tame rabbits, placed vvith them, 

 vvhen the)' were about two inonths old, a young buck hare appa- 

 rently about the šame age, which became in a short time as domes- 

 ticated as iis companions. When the doe rahbit was old enough, 

 she had, by the buck rabbit and the hare, a litter, consisting of'three 

 young ones, which resen.bled in all respects the mother and buck 

 rabbit, and of three mules. Two of these mules shortly died : the 

 third, a female, was reared vvith rabbits of" her own age, and when 

 six months old produced one young one : she was afterwards bred 

 from eight times, by tame rabbits and b}' a wild one, but no oppor- 

 tunity occurred of placing a buck hare in confintment with her. 

 Her progeny by a white tame rabbit, vvith vvhich she bred twice, 

 consisted of two young ones, vvhich vvere perfectiy gray, and of 

 tvvo vvhich vvere spotted : the latter are stili alive, and breed regu- 

 larly, producing from five to eight at a time. The aveiage vveight 

 of the progeny of the mule female vvas about five pounds ; one, 

 hovvever, vveighed six pounds and a half. She died shortly after 

 coming into the Society's possession. 



Mr. Owen, having examined the body of this hybrid animal after 

 its death, reported tiiat its size and colour vvere those of the Hare, 

 but that its hinder legs vvere shorter than in that species, and agreed 

 rather vvith those of the Rabbit. The length of its small intestines 

 corresponded vvith that of the hare ; its ccecum vvas seven inches 

 shorter ; vvliiie its large intestines measured one foot more than 

 those of tiie hare. 



Mr. Bennett called the attention of the Committee to the speci- 

 men of the Sociable Vultiire ( Vuliur aurtcularis, Daud.), vvhich has 

 been an inhabitant of the Society's Gardens for nearly two years. 

 His object in adverting to this bird vvas to correct an erroneous im- 

 pression vvhich might be Į)roduced on the minds of those vvho had 

 never seen an individual of the species, by the statement made by 

 M. Ruppel, in a late Monograph of the genus to vvhich it belongs, 

 that considerable doubts as to the existence of such a species might 

 reasonably be entertained. M. Ruppel's doubts ap])ear to have been 

 excited by the fact vvhich he reports, that the stufFed skin in the 

 collection of the Duc de Rivoli at Paris, vvhich has been regarded 

 as that of the Vult. aurtcularis, is evidently factitious ; the folds of 

 the skin on the head and neck having been produced in that speci- 

 men by artificial raeans. These doubts mušt, hovvever, be at once 



