RABBITS 



259 



is often raised solely as a decorative animal. 



It cannot be too highly recommended for its 



meat ; it is very prolific and the young rabbits 



make a delicious stew. At birth they are pink, 



the white comes later, and the 



black fur does not appear until 



they are four months old. At 



si.\ months they are in their 



full beauty ; at the end of a 



year and a half they lose it, 



because by that time the black 



begins to turn a rusty brown. 



To preserve this fine color the 



hutches must be kept in dark 



stables, away from the action 



of the sunlight. This is one 



of the most agreeable rabbits 



to raise. 



The tricolor Japan rabbit 

 is very like the tricolor (other- 

 wise called "tortoise-shell") 

 cat and is the product of the 

 crossing of various breeds. These rabbits are 

 not much in vogue. Their colors are black, 

 yellow, and a dirty white. Generally one half 

 of the head is yellow, the other half black ; the 

 markings on the back and sides are in lines, or 



its snow-white fur, which is very valuable to 

 furriers. It is still ciuite rare on the Continent. 

 Children delight in it. Too small to be raised 

 for the market, it is nevertheless often eaten 



A French Papillox (M.\le) 



in rings arovmd the body. The more distinct 



these markings the more the animal is \alued. 



The Polish rabbit, of English origin, is 



small ; its red eyes shine out pleasantly from 



A Tricolor R.M'.r.ix of Jai'.w 



in families, for its flesh is good when young. It 

 has a large progeny, which are easy to raise. 



The I-'niic/i papilloii {or butterfly) rabbit, 



also a small species, is of recent date ; some 



years ago it appeared only at shows, but, being 



a pretty animal, it soon found 



admirers to raise it. It is 



white with black, yellow, 



gray, or steel-blue spots placed 



with some regularity. The 



nose and ears must always be 



of the same color as the spots. 



From behind the ears a stripe 



extends along the back, and 



the spots ought to be ranged 



with regularity on each side 



about the haunch. This breed 



is raised in about the same 



manner as the Dutch rabbit, 



but the French animals are 



bred more for food than for 



ornament. 



The Norman rabbit is incontestably the best 



of all species for butchering. It attains a 



weight of from nine to ten pounds and may be 



killed when five months old. It is raised in 



