54 Permanence and Evolution. 



etc., but other marks, e.g., blackness, are marks 

 of races which we have no reason to believe 

 anything else but permanent and original. Lop 

 ears and certain colours qy. albinous whiteness 

 are said to be transmitted rather doubtfully, 

 but others, such as blackness sprinkled with 

 white, in the so-called silver-grey, are trans- 

 mitted with absolute truth. 



We are told that "when variously coloured 

 rabbits are turned out in Europe they generally 

 re-acquire the colouring of the wild animal ; 

 there can be no doubt (sic) that this does 

 really occur, but we should remember that 

 oddly coloured and conspicuous animals would 

 suffer much from beasts of prey and from 

 being easily shot ; this at least was the opinion 

 of a gentleman who tried to stock his woods 

 with a nearly white variety, and when thus 

 destroyed they would in truth be supplanted 

 by (instead of being transformed into) the com- 

 mon rabbit." Silver-greys when living in a 



