THE STUDY OF THE RABBIT. 63 



Breathing. Have the pupils first describe how they 

 themselves breathe, telling about the movements of the 

 chest and sides, and noting how fast they breathe. They 

 can then tell more intelligently what they have observed 

 about the breathing of the rabbit, comparing with them- 

 selves. When do the rabbits and they breathe 

 most rapidly ? Why ? 



Burrowing. As this is so essential in the life of the 

 wild rabbit and many other animals, it will be helpful 

 if the pupils can see exactly how they 'burrow, digging 

 with their fore feet, and pushing the earth away with 

 their hind feet. Two or three pupils, preferably those 

 who have rabbits, may be 'assigned this as a special 

 topic for investigation and report. It is said that rab- 

 bits much prefer to make their burrows on hillsides. 

 Why? Many of our hares, or so-called " wild rabbits," 

 burrow under the snow in winter. 



STEP 4. General summary and expressive work. 



Not everything observed or discussed in the lesson 

 can be or should be reviewed at the end, but those 

 habits most important and most clearly observed. If 

 the drawing of the rabbit in one or two most common 

 positions is attempted, as suggested after Step 1, this 

 can be the expressive work. If this seems impossible, 

 perhaps the pupils can write about those things studied 

 in the lesson which they have seen most clearly, and 

 therefore know most about. A good subject will be, 

 "How Our Rabbit Rests and Plays," telling how the 

 rabbit lies when resting, and how he sits, how he hops 

 when playing, and how he breathes after playing. A 



