192 FEEDING FATTENING. 



from rabbit feeding. Such articles are too washy 

 and diuretic, and can never be worth attention, 

 whilst the more solid and nutritious productions of 

 the field may be obtained in such plenty, and will 

 return so much greater profit. Rabbits may, indeed, 

 be kept, and even fattened upon roots, good green 

 meat, and hay : but they will pay for corn ; and 

 this may be taken as a general rule: Rabbits 

 which have as much corn as they will eat, can never 

 take any harm from being indulged with almost an 

 equal portion of good substantial vegetables. How- 

 ever, the test of health is, that their dung be not 

 too moist. Many, or most, of the town feeders 

 never allow any greens at all ; the reason, I sup- 

 pose, because they feed almost entirely on grains. 

 The CORN proper for rabbits : oat, peas, wheat ; 

 pollard, and some give buck wheat. The GREENS 

 and ROOTS, the same as our cattle crops, namely, 

 carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and, if potatoes, baked 

 or steamed. Lucerne, cabbage-leaves, clover, tares, 

 furze. I have had them HOVEN from eating rape ; 

 and, not improbably, mangoldt might have a similar 

 effect. Clover and meadow hay, pea and bean 

 straw. 



Among other field trash, hog-weed (the vegetation 

 of the wild parsnip) has been seriously recommended 

 as food for rabbits, and even for labouring horses, 

 which, so fed during several weeks, must have had 

 very light work, or very light bellies. On moving 

 out of Middlesex in 1790, to Pamber-House, near 

 Basingstoke, Hants, I took with me a favourite stock 

 of rabbits, in the highest condition. Being particu- 



