THE BEE-KEEPEkS' REVIEW 



265 



same flavor as meat food as did those we 

 gave limited freedom, or as the wild 

 rabbit. 



As a fancy, the handliiij^ of rabbits or 

 hares is most attractive. It is quite in- 

 teresting to stndy the influence of color 

 and form from matinijs made. Bnt the 

 practical question is to produce the Bel- 

 gian hare fur meat food at a profit. If 

 they are producetl to any grent • extent, 

 those who raise tlie-n tnust look to the 

 large cities to consume the bulk of the 

 product, which must be sold, if sent to 

 tliese populated centers, at the market 

 l)rice I turn to our market book and 

 find I paid at our nient market. December 

 9 last, just 35 cents for two rabbits; De- 

 cendjer 19, 40 cents per pair, all dressed 

 ready for u«e. Now, if rabbits can be 

 sold to fam lies in our meat tnarkets of 

 New York, all ready to cook, at 20 cents 

 e.ich, what will be the price when raised 

 by the thou-;ands? 



There is some kind of rabbit fur, or 

 hair, imported into this country and used, 

 I believe, in making hats. It may be 

 that the fur of the hare would do for this 

 purpose. If so, it would add to the value 

 of such a product, and might aid in mak- 

 ing their production profitable. But I do 

 not believe it is possible to raise a rabbit 

 of any kind to three months old, if kept 

 in hutches or pens, for 20 cents each in 

 fool alone, care and housing not consid- 

 ereil. If kept longer, the cost will be 

 more. This is no idle estimate, for my 

 experience with them for over ten years 

 has shown me the amoimt of food con- 

 sumed In' both the larger Lops and the 

 smaller Dutch, and to make a profit on 

 them as food one must find a market for 

 them at a price considerably above the 

 foofl consumed. 



I have heard it said that thousands of 

 them are sold at S2.0.0 a pair for food 

 meat: but just where they are sold is not 

 mentioned, and why they should sell for 

 five times the price I paid in December 

 for them in our mrket is a question I 

 cannot answer. It is true that the Bel- 

 gian hare is larger than our vvihl rabbit, 

 but by the time they are full-sized I am 

 sure they will consume, if kept in 

 hutches, fully 50 cents in cost of food, 

 and to rear them even at this cost, the 

 greate.st care nuist be exercised, and the 

 plainest and cheapest food must be used. 



If a market can be found for thetn at 

 paying prices, their production is very 

 easy. Bnt I hardly believe they can be 

 produced in hutches and put in good con- 

 dition for market at a cost of 50 cents 

 each. Rabbits must be in good con- 

 ditioa or they will be very slow of sale, 



as educated people consider them only as 

 a \A inter food, and it will take considera- 

 ble training to teach the ])eople to eat 

 them during the spiiiig and summer. You 

 will also find many who believe their 

 flesh injurious as a food at any time. 



All llicse conditions are factors for con- 

 sideration when contem])lating their pro- 

 duction for market. If it were simply a 

 question of producing, we all know with 

 what ra])idit3' they increase. But the 

 facts are that a market for them in quan- 

 tities must be created and at a price over 

 the cost of production. Ever}- one can 

 be informed as to their cost in his own 

 home market. Whh this information at 

 hand, under present conditions, it is 

 quite easy to calculate their value under 

 largely inci eased production. 



With properly constiucted warrens, the 

 cost of production would be much less 

 than in hutches. The very ]ioorest kinds 

 of lands can be used for warrens, but they 

 must be properly enclosed, so that the 

 rabbits can neither get out by digging 

 nor through the fences. Such construct- 

 ed warrens might prove profitable where 

 breeding in hutches would fail. The 

 only question is the ability to produce 

 them at a cost less than thev will sell in 

 the open market, and to calculate to have 

 them ready for ihe winter months. 



For the benefit of vour readers. I called 

 on one of the largest handlers of poultry 

 and game of all kinds in this city, and 

 asked him about the Belgian hares as a 

 salable product. I was informed that 

 there was no sale for them except during 

 winter months; that they were not a 

 favorite food in the market with any 

 classes; that they sold the past winter to 

 a limited extent at from -^o to 75 cents per 

 pair, and weighed from S to i 2 lbs. per 

 pair. It was not thought by the dealer 

 that the demand for them had increased 

 in the last few years, nor did he know of 

 any reason why it should increase in the 

 near ftiture. 



Belgian hares are a species of rabbit. 

 Thev, 1 ke all rabl)its, produce young in 

 litters of from six to as many as fourteen 

 I the larger number quite rare); while I 

 believe it is the habit of the English hare 

 to produce in pairs. The Belgian hare is 

 the rabbit from Belgium, and is called the 

 Belgian hare because it has much the 

 shape of the English hare, having long 

 fore legs and the slim formation at shoul- 

 der. Tlie Belgian hare is by no means a 

 new production. I have known of them 

 for twenty-five years. Twenty years ago 

 thev were largely l)reil in England as a 

 fancy rabbit, and were used to cross with 

 silver greys for producing for the market. 



