32 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



prolificacy. That they are terribly destructive is 

 too sadly true ; but they are cheery, happy little 

 creatures, and their presence is capable of adding 

 considerably to the homeliness and interest of any 

 park, which, if devoid of rabbits, always seems to be 

 wanting in life. It is pleasant to see them caper- 

 ing away when disturbed, their little white ' scuts ' 

 bobbing up and down, and still more so to watch 

 them at play in the summer evenings ; but it is 

 necessary to keep concealed and well below the 

 wind, it being far easier to approach them in the 

 open with the wind in one's face than to stalk 

 them under covert with a side or down wind. 

 Their senses are very acute, more especially those 

 of hearing and smelling. The larder of a country 

 house is but ill furnished without a supply of 

 rabbits ; fortunately there are but few months in 

 the year when they are not procurable. It has 

 been estimated that the descendants of but a 

 single couple of rabbits, provided they all attain 

 to maturity, will in the space of four years reach 

 nearly a million in number. This is, however, an 

 impossibility, inasmuch as not more than half of 

 each litter live to grow to any size. That rabbits 

 do increase and multiply exceedingly is indisput- 

 able. They have several litters annually, the 

 number of these depending much upon the 

 weather. If the spring is mild and open, they 

 begin to breed as early as the end of February, 

 and continue to do so until the end of September, 

 and frequently still later on into the autumn. 



