116 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



it would kill the first rabbit it caught, and remain in the hole, 



sucking the blood of its victim. 



The female Rabbit forms a soft nest at the bottom of her 



burrow, composed of fur torn from her body, of hay and dried 



leaves. Here the young rabbits are kept until they are 



strong enough to shift for themselves and make their own 



burrows. 



The tame Rabbit is only a variety, 

 rendered larger by careful feeding and 

 attendance. There are many breeds 

 of domestic rabbits, some, as the fancy 

 or lop-eared rabbits, being often of con- 

 siderable value, thirty guineas having 

 been refused for a particularly fine one. 

 When tame rabbits are suffered to go 



free, they speedily return to their wild habits and instincts 



Family IV. . . Jerboidrc. (Jerboa kind,) 

 Sub-family a. Ckinchiliina. 



CHINCHILLA. 



Laniger (Lat. wool-bearing), the Chinchilla. 



This pretty little animal is an inhabitant of the valleys in 

 the mountain districts of South America. In such situations 

 the cold is often very intense ; but the long soft fur of the 

 CHINCHILLA forms an effectual protection against the frosts. 

 The fur is extensively used for clothing, and celebrated for its 



* From the Anatomical Museum, Oxford. 



