686 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



chambers without movable frames, on the plan 

 of handling brood-chambers only. In the 

 production of comb honey such a scheme 

 would be possible. I said there are a good 

 many throughout the country who are prac- 

 ticing essentially the same methods you advo- 

 cate. I should be glad to hear from others 

 who have made the system a success. 



With regard to the depth of brood-chamber 

 (7 inches) I would say that Mr. Danzen baker 

 has on file hundreds of letters indorsing that 

 depth for a brood-nest for the production of 

 comb honey. Strangely enough, he has also 

 testimonials from those who have placed the 

 seven-inch brood-nest and the ten-inch brood- 

 nest side by side, with the result that the taller 

 ones were the only ones that got any surplus 

 comb honey. Mr. Danzenbaker explains it by 

 saying that the ordinary 8 and 10 frame Lang- 

 stroth size is the wrong shape, and that to con- 

 tract it by means of division-boards does not 

 give good results — that it should be contracted 

 horizontally. This same idea was advocated 

 years ago by Mr. Heddon, and by those who 

 favored and adopted his system. — Ed.] 



BELGIAN HARES. 

 Their Life History; Continued from Last Issue. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



The English fanciers recognized at once the 

 excellence of the Belgian hares. Their beau- 

 ty, grace of form, excellence of flesh, and, 

 best of all, their hardiness and abundant fe- 

 cundity, each and all recommended them to 

 the intelligence of the English breeders. Such 

 men as Slater, a scientist of no mean rank ; 

 Dr. Barham, Mr. Ernest Wilkins, and Secretary 

 W. Lumb, were not only enthusiastic admir- 

 ers of the new leporines, but engaged actively 

 at once in the improvement of the race and 

 the dissemination of knowledge regarding it. 

 As already stated, these English fanciers kept 

 before them, as an ideal, the English hare, 

 Lepus timidus. It is even stated that one of 

 the best breeders had one of the English hares 

 stuffed, and kept it before him as an ideal to 

 work toward in perfecting the new race. In 

 this way has been acquired the rich brown ru- 

 fus-red coloring with its ticking of black, the 

 graceful, clean-cut form of the animal, the per- 

 fection of eye, ear, and limb development, and 

 the exceeding vigor and prolificness of this 

 breed of rabbits. I doubt if we can get a bet- 

 ter idea of the characteristics of this beautiful 

 animal than by giving the scale of points 

 adopted by the British Belgian-hare Club, to 

 be used in judging the leporines at the vari- 

 ous exhibitions. I will comment on each fea- 

 ture as it is given. 



Color — rich rufus-red ; " not dark smudgy," 

 extending well down the sides and hind quar- 

 ters, and limiting the white under the jaws to 

 the utmost 20 



Ticking. — The word "ticking" refers to 

 the black color which results from the tipping 

 of the ends of the hair with jet black. This 

 should be wavy and plentiful, but should be 



confined to the back and loins. If the ticking 

 extends too far, the "golden tan," as the 

 English call the rufus red, does not produce 

 the beautiful contrast that is desired in the 

 best show animals. .... 15 



Form. — Body long, well cut up in flank, 

 ribs prominent, back slightly arched, loins 

 not bunched, but smoothly rounded ; head 

 long, chest with good muscular development ; 

 tail straight, not corkscrewlike — in all a form 

 suggesting that of a well-bred racer. The 

 very shape should suggest alertness or spright- 

 liness of demeanor. Squatty, lazy animals 

 will stand little chance in the show-ring. 20 



Ears. — The ear should be about 5 inches 

 long ; thin, with a well-marked lacing. By 

 "lacing" is meant the black color that tips 

 the ears. This should extend as far down on 

 the outside edges as ppssible. The front of 

 the ear should show the rufus red with tick- 

 ing, the inside clear rufus red. . . 10 



iEye. — The eyes should be rich brown or ha- 

 zel in color, full round, bright and honest. 10 



Legs and feet. — The fore feet and legs should 

 be long, straight, and graceful, and free from 

 white hairs ; in fact, all the legs should be 

 well covered with a uniform coat of rufus 

 red. . . . . . . • . 10 



Weight. — The weight should be about eight 

 pounds. ....... 5 



Conditioii. — Not fat, never bunchy, but flesh 

 firm like that of the race horse. The fur 

 should feel well to the touch. . . 5 



Without dewlap 5 



Total- 



100 



In the above description of the color no 

 mention is made of white. There is a white 

 patch both in front of and behind the eye, and 

 a streak, nearly white, over the front of the 

 upper eyelid ; beneath the chin, extending 

 back to the angle of the jaw, and showing in 

 a side view, is also white. The base of the 

 ear on the outside is white, as is a part of the 

 inside when seen in profile. There is no oth- 

 er white except that of the belly and between 

 the fore and hind legs. As we see from the 

 description above, the only black is the tip 

 and margin of the ear and the ticking, which 

 is confined to the back and loins. 



All of the other parts are of the rich-red 

 chestnut, which, as we have seen, should ex- 

 tend to the tip ends of the feet. To quote 

 from the admirable work of Mr. Ernest Wil- 

 kins on the Belgian hare, from which I have 

 received much information : ' ' The whole prop- 

 erties of the make-up of the Belgian should 

 combine to the eye, as the wild hare does, a 

 look of gracefulness and activity. A thick, 

 choppy, angular Belgian is an abomination." 



I will next proceed to give the life history 

 of this interesting animal. The males become 

 virile at four months of age, though they do 

 not mature nor reach perfection in form and 

 coloration until eight months old. In some 

 cases this last is not true until the rabbit at- 

 tains the age of one year or eighteen months. 

 The males are pugnacious, and do not do as 

 well if kept in adjacent pens. The females 

 commence to ovulate at four months, after 

 which they ovulate every four days. From 



