726 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



SkpT. 15. 



wide board, it will be more convenient, as the 

 frisky young will not escape when the door is 

 opened. In the rear of the run is the breed- 

 ing-box. This should be at least two and a 

 half feet square, should open into the run 

 with a hole large enough to permit the mother 

 to pass through, and should have a movable 

 cover to permit easy observation and easy 

 cleaning. Some fanciers recommend sinking 

 this breeding-box in the earth, and digging 

 down on one side to permit entrance. I doubt 

 if this is necessary — at least it is not much 

 followed in actual practice. 



Each person must exercise his own ingenui- 

 ty in constructing his hutches and rabbilry, 

 and must, of course, consult his ideas of taste 

 as also his pocketbook. Some breeders iise 

 dry-goods boxes, and have no rabbitr)^ at all. 



cier. The pens should be thoroughly cleaned 

 at least once a week. The rabbits are natural- 

 ly very cleanly animals. Health demands the 

 absence of all filth. Any remission in this 

 matter will surely be the lault of the breeder. 

 The food used in the rabbitry is easily pro- 

 cured, but should be varied. We may say in 

 general that any thing that is fed to cattle, 

 sheep, etc., or, indeed, eaten by people, if we 

 exclude meat and grease, may well serve in the 

 rabbitry. Alfalfa hay in California and Colo- 

 rado, and clover hay in the Eist, are most ex- 

 cellent. It goes without saying that they 

 should be well cured and never mu*ty. The 

 hay can be fed in a wire-screen manger, so as 

 to prevent i^ll waste and litter. These and, 

 indeed, almost any plant or vegetable may be 

 given green to the animal. In such case, how- 



RABBITRY OF S. N. KEMP, I.OS ANGELES, CAL. 



I presume even such an arrangement may, in 

 careful hands, serve well the purpose. But I 

 wish again to urge thorough ventilation, no 

 drafts, and ample runways that the animals 

 may have opportunity to exercise sufficiently 

 to keep vigorous, and to develop firmness of 

 muscle. I visited the rabbitry of our old 

 friend, Mr. O. Clute, author of "Blessed 

 Bees," the other day, and found that he had a 

 number of animals in outdoor runs, but they 

 were all protected by a double covered screen 

 from the sun. Mr. Clute, who has many ani- 

 mals that score very high, also has a good rab- 

 bitry. 



Neatness is another very important matter 

 which should never be neglected by the fan- 



ever, great caution is requisite. Three mala- 

 dies, each of which is sometimes serious, are 

 most frequently produced by overfeeding green 

 vegetables — bloat, dysentery, and scours. 

 With proper feeding these may be all very 

 largely prevented. The fecal matter should 

 always come from the animals in little balls. 

 If it is sticky, and runs together, it indicates 

 indisposition, and almost as certainly injudi- 

 cious feeding. The grains, especially oats, bar- 

 ley, and corn, are very desirable as forming a 

 part of the food rations of the rabbit. Beans 

 and peas are also fed with good results. In 

 feeding these it is often found desirable to 

 soften them with water. The ground or roll- 

 ed barley is a favorite food with many of the 



