RABBITS 



261 



III. Preservation of the Skins 

 At the present time rabbit skins bring a 

 high price, and it is well to take good care of 

 them. The animals should be carefully packed 

 in straw, for all injury, rent, or cut, however 

 small, diminishes the value of the skin. 



There are several ways of drying the skins, 

 though it is always rather difficult to keep them 

 supple and intact. The following method is the 

 one we recommend. Flay the animal as soon 

 as possible, nail the skin on a board, stretching 

 it well, and brush the flesh side with very hot 

 water and a stiff brush until not a particle of the 

 flesh remains and the skin is perfectly clean. 

 Let it dry, and after a few hours rub it with 

 a weak solution of alum. Repeat this for three 

 days and the skin is ready. It would, however, 

 be better to send it to an experienced tanner. 



IV. Diseases and Ailments 



When rabbits are well fed, well lodged, and 

 well cared for, — in short, when they are intelli- 

 gently raised, — they are the healthiest animals 

 in existence. If, on the contrary, they are ill- 

 lodged and carelessly raised, there is perhaps 

 no race more liable to disease. Whoever gives 



Still there does exist a certain rate of mor- 

 tality among young rabbits, although no one 

 can say with certainty what is the cause of it. 

 This is evidently a question of great interest 

 to breeders. Without being able to gi\'e rules 



Box FOR Transporting Rabbits 



his rabbits proper care will have, at the end 

 of a few months, enough experience to enable 

 him to make diseases among them extremely 

 exceptional. 



A Dutch RAr.iirr { Ili.-M.krked) 



or precepts for bringing young rabbits safely 

 to a certain age, we shall indicate a few of the 

 probable causes of their mortality. One of the 

 principal ones is convulsions, that is to say, in- 

 sufficient vitality. This is hereditary ; a sickly 

 mother may have a progeny without sufificient 

 \itality to bear the little ailments of early life. 

 It may also be that the mother has to suckle 

 too many young ; we could give instances of a 

 'tingle mother suckling twelve or fourteen. It 

 is easy to see that nothing good could 

 come of this. The nurse will be 

 exhausted and the nurslings feeble. 

 When the survivors of such a litter 

 reach the mating age their off- 

 spring cannot possibly be robust. 

 It is therefore unadvisable to raise 

 too many in a litter, or too many 

 litters. Five litters annually 

 should content the breeder. 



Besides, the food given to 

 the young rabbits is not always 

 judiciously selected, and this is one of the prin- 

 cipal causes of disease ; too much green food is 

 apt to be given. The diseases that result are 

 dropsy and diarrhea, which frecjuently end in 



