PET RABBITS, CAVIES, AND MICE. 43 



markings to lose 20 points; over 5J Ibs. in weight to 

 lose 20 points. 



THE OLD ENGLISH RABBIT. 



Or as it is now called dropping the ancient reference 

 the English, often alluded to as the " spotted one," is a 

 very beautiful creature, and is characterised by a splen- 

 did coat, and a charming diffusion of colour. The 

 ground colour is pure white, and the marking points 

 are saddle or run of darker fur down the centre of the 

 back from neck to tail root; ears and tail of darker fur; 

 nose dark in the shape of a butterfly with outstretched 

 wings ; a dark fur circle round each eye, as clean cut at 

 the edges as possible a point which most breeders seek 

 after but few 7 attain to perfection, so any aspirant to fame 

 knows at least one ideal to aim at; the cheek spots con- 

 sist of one on each cheek, as round and clean as 

 possible, not to touch the eye circle; then there are the 

 six belly spots one clear spot on each teat ; the leg spots 

 consist of one on the outer part of each of the four legs, 

 at the hock joint of the hind legs, and the shoulder joint 

 of the fore legs. The chains and loins are represented 

 by the spots along the rabbit's sides, and should be as 

 even on each as possible, made up of spots, well 

 broken up, and quite clear of the saddle. A great point 

 in an English rabbit, to make it perfect, is that the spots 

 should be round and distinct, and not mere smudges 

 running one into the other. The saddle should be con- 

 tinuous, as a broken saddle is a bad fault. The face of 

 the rabbit should be perfectly white, except for the nose 

 mark, the eye circles, and the cheek spots. There are 

 several varieties, such as black and white, grey and 

 white,' blue and white, and tortoiseshell, or fawn and 

 white with dark shading on the fawn. English have 

 grown immensely popular of later years, and the 

 breeders of the variety are now very numerous. Here 

 is a piece of advice from a breeder of many prize 

 winners including several champions. Mr. T. F. 

 Linley, of West Hartlepool, says: "First of all get 

 three does and a buck from a well known breeder of the 

 colour you select to go in for. I like the does to have 

 good heads and saddles, with plenty of work (spots) on 

 the body and chains. If there is what appears too much 



