182 RABBIT-HOUSE ARRANGEMENT OF HUTCHES. 



reckoned, no other profit accrued, excepting the dung, 

 the price of which used to be eight-pence per bushel, 

 and I believe thirty-six bushels are reckoned a load. 

 The Berks gentleman, according to the survey of that 

 county, fed white rabbits on account of the superior 

 value of their SKINS, from their application of late 

 years to the purpose of trimmings. Twenty does and 

 two bucks were my largest stock. 



The RABBIT-HOUSE should stand upon a dry foun- 

 dation, and be well ventilated. Exposure to too 

 much humidity, whether externally or internally, is 

 fatal to rabbits, which are liable to the rot like sheep, 

 and from the same causes. The rains of 1 799, which 

 continued nearly four months, destroyed my stock of 

 rabbits, which were hutted in a boarded shed not 

 well defended from the cold and moist air. Ventila- 

 tion and fresh air are also necessary, where consider- 

 able numbers of these animals are kept, which will not 

 else remain healthy, or prosper for any length of time : 

 and even sudden mortality may ensue from impure 

 and stagnant air. A thorough draught or passage 

 for the air is thence indispensable, and should be con- 

 trived in the building, with the convenience of shut- 

 ing such opposite windows or doors in cold and wet 

 weather. 



The HUTS or HUTCHES are generally placed one 

 above another to the height required by the number 

 of rabbits, and the extent of the room. Where a 

 large stock is kept, to make the most of room, the 

 hutches may be placed in rows, with a sufficient in- 

 terval between, for feeding and cleaning, instead of 

 being joined to the wall in the usual way. It is pre- 



