138 City Homes on Country Lanes 



at the club, and listening to their expressions of sur- 

 prise and delight. "It beats potted chicken out of 

 sight !" was the common remark. It sold well, too, in 

 the finer stores of New York. This, however, was only 

 experimental — encouraging, but not conclusive. To 

 build a great industry would require a large and regular 

 supply of raw material, ample manufacturing facilities, 

 and good publicity, with adequate financial backing. 

 Such an industry would be quite ideal in connection with 

 a garden city, or a series of garden cities, provided 

 there were large numbers of people who cared to venture 

 beyond the supply of their own tables. The rabbit I 

 am sure would do its part, and do it well. 



Another very interesting aspect of the economic rab- 

 bit is its value as a source of fur supply. Few realize 

 how extensively it serves this purpose now. Perhaps 

 some people who are wearing various kinds of "Coney" 

 and imitation "Seal" are really much better acquainted 

 with the rabbit than they realize. The common rabbit 

 fur is used in vast quantities in the making of felt hats, 

 and the hide is converted into glue. While Australian 

 rabbits are a large source of this supply, such skins 

 bring only two or three cents apiece, which would not, 

 of course, be profitable for small domestic producers. 



The hope of the fur industry is in the finer varieties 

 produced by scientific selective breeding. Some rabbits 

 have fine fur, but thin skin; others have thick skin, but 

 poor fur; others have both good fur and thick skin, but 

 with the fur poorly set. The selective breeder aims to 

 produce a rabbit with a thick skin and a good fur that 

 is well set. 



Wonderful progress has been made in this direction 



