RODENTS. 



enormous, and the destruction it inflicts so great, that in some districts it has 

 actually been a question whether the colonists should not vacate the country rather 

 than attempt to tight against the plague. The average number of rabbit skins 

 exported from New Zealand is now twelve millions. 



in other Tame rabbits were introduced into the island of Porto Santo, 



Countries, near Madeira, in the year 1418 or 1419, and their descendants have 

 now formed a breed distinguished by their small size, the reddish colour of the fur 

 of the upper-parts, and the grey tints of that below. So different, indeed, are these 

 rabbits from the ordinary kind, that t''> two kinds will not even breed together; 

 and if the history of the Porto Santo race were not known, it would undoubtedly 

 be regarded as a distinct species. Tame rabbits which have run wild in Jamaica 

 and the Falkland Islands have not reverted to the ordinary wild form, but still 

 exhibit distinct traces of their origin. Introduced rabbits are also numerous in 

 Teneriffe and the Crozet Islands. In Teneriti'e, where the breed is small, they do 

 not burrow, but live in crannies among the rocks. 

 Domesticated The rabbit has long been kept in a domesticated state, in which 



Rabbits. it varies not onlj' in colour but likewise in size, in the length of the 

 fur, in the form and direction of the ears, and also to some extent in the conforma- 

 tion of the skull. The usual colours are brown, fawn, reddish brown, or black, more 

 or less mingled with white ; and there is also an albino race with pink eyes. 



Lop-Eared Among the most remarkable changes produced by domestication 



Breeds. j s the assumption of a pendent position by one or both ears, which 



become greatly enlarged, accompanied by a modification in the skull. Whereas in 



the ordinary wild rabbit the length of the 

 ears from tip to tip when extended is 

 rather less than 8 inches, and the breadth 

 of each not more than 2 inches : a " lop- 

 ear" has been exhibited in which these 

 dimensions were respectively 23 and 5£ 

 inches. The weight of these rabbits is, 

 moreover, frequently from 8 to 10 lbs.; 

 while, according to Mr. Darwin, it has been 

 known to reach 18 lbs. When only one 

 ear hangs down the rabbit is called a "half- 

 lop " ; and in some cases this pendent ear is 

 larger than the upright one. Many lop- 

 eared rabbits have large dewlaps, or folds 

 of skin beneath the throat. Neither whole nor half-lops breed at all truly : and in 

 all lop-eared rabbits the skull is proportionately longer than in the wild race. 



The Angora breed is readily distinguished by the length and 

 fineness of its fur, which is even of considerable length on the soles 

 of the feet. Mr. Darwin states that these rabbits are more sociable in disposition 

 than the other domestic breeds ; and that the males do not exhibit that tendency 

 to destroy their offspring which is so characteristic of the rest. 



-.„ „ The hare-coloured or Belgian rabbit differs mainlv from other 



Other Breeds. " 



large breeds by its colour : while other strains which breed true to 



^s%V-^5&^^i-3/^x 



LOP-EARED RABBIT. 



Angora. 



