38 PET RABBITS. CAVIES, AND MICE. 



body colour. The lighter hairs form the silvering, the 

 darker ones supply the ticking, just as is the case with 

 light and dark in the Silver Grey. The effect is strik- 

 ing. The rabbit is sometimes badly silvered on face and 

 cheeks ; sometimes it fails in this respect on the feet and 

 tail, and is too light round the eyes and along the jowl. 

 There are in reality three shades of Silver Fawns, i.e., 

 light, medium, and dark. Either is nice, but the light 

 shade is the most delicate. A great point in the Fawn 

 is evenness, and depth of undercolour; but they must 

 have short, full, sharply flying coats, and neat ears. A 

 Silver with big ears is badly handicapped; and in a 

 Silver Fawn black hairs at the roots of the ears or on the 

 forehead, as is sometimes seen, is a very great fault. 

 In the competition for the Silver Cup at Tunbridge 

 Wells in 1906 a Silver Fawn won over Greys and 

 Browns. In breeding Silver Browns there is frequently 

 a Fawn found in the litter. This indicates an intermix- 

 ing of the two by breeders, and explains the presence of 

 the dark and objectionable hairs at the ear roots. 

 Silver Fawns are gradually growing in favour, but their 

 beauty would seem to warrant an even more rapid 

 advance in that direction. 



THE SILVER BROWN 



Is another charming variety of the same family. Not 

 so delicate quite as the Pawn, it yet possesses a fine 

 blending of tints. On the top it has a mixture of silver 

 hairs and black ticking. If you disturb its coat you 

 will find four distinct colours. The top, as noted, is 

 silver and black hairs giving silvering and ticking; then 

 comes a layer of deep, rich, bright chestnut fur; and 

 then, lowest of all, a layer of a deep, rich, slate-like blue 

 colour of fur. On no account should a Silver Brown 

 show a blue shade of colour on top, when viewed from 

 any position. It should always be a rich chestnut, 

 varying in intensity from light to dark, and relieved by 

 the black ticking which adds effect. One of the great 

 faults in a Silver Brown is a dark beading or (as it is 

 called in Belgian Hares, in which case it is of great 

 value), ear lacing. This consists of a black rim round 

 the tips of the ears for about an inch or two in length. 

 The ears of a Silver Brown should be free from this, 



