20 PET RABBITS, CAVIES, AND MICE. 



Do not place too high an estimate on your own stock. 

 On the other hand, keep your eyes open hereabouts. 

 Why? The answer is simple. If you have started 

 with a good strain you may have bred something out 

 of the common, and if you consult other fanciers they 

 may sometimes be a little envious, just a little afraid 

 lest you should beat them, and just a little only a little, 

 but watch for it desirous of purchasing one from you 

 " to cross in with theirs." Often that " one " is a plum. 

 We cast no reflection here, but it is just one touch of 

 human nature as we have seen it, in play in the years 

 gone by. The "one" they want "to cross in" is 

 usually the one you should exhibit. Mark that. But 

 there are generally fanciers who will give you candid 

 and honest advice, and won't want to buy. If you 

 desire to know what shows to exhibit at, you will find 

 them advertised in the Fancy journals, to be bought at 

 your newsagents. And a post card to the secretary of 

 any show advertised will bring you a schedule in which 

 all particulars will be found. Study that schedule well, 

 and be careful how you fill it in. These are only ex- 

 traneous matters, but they are important. Now we will 

 deal with three or four points concerning preparation 

 for exhibition. The first is training or handling. A 

 wild rabbit on the basket is a great annoyance to a 

 judge, and its chances are heavily handicapped thereby-. 

 Consequently we advise, most strongly, the fancier to 

 handle his show rabbits frequently. Put up a stand 

 near your rabbitry or in it. Lay a sack thereon, and 

 take out your rabbits often and train them to sit as you 

 would like to see them do when on the judging table. 

 This gives the animals confidence, and enhances their 

 chances of showing themselves to the best advantage. 

 The next point is grooming. A good rabbit well 

 groomed is a picture. Some fanciers groom one way, 

 some another. Here is one way, and it shall suffice. 

 Take a very small spot of castor oil and place it in the 

 centre of one of your palms. Rub the hands together 

 till all apparent traces of the oil have disappeared, and 

 your hands shine. Then groom the rabbit's fur with 

 your hands till it glistens. This it will soon do. Be 

 careful there is no oil, in substance, on your hands, or 

 it will cause a " mess." This treatment applies to all 

 short-coated varieties. In the case of Angoras, they 



