LEPORID.E 495 
with it. Thence it has spread, partly by man’s agency, northwards 
throughout temperate Western Europe, increasing rapidly wherever 
it gains a footing: and this extension is still going on, as is shown 
by the case of Scotland, in which sixty years ago Rabbits were little 
known, while they are now found in all suitable localities up to the 
extreme north. It has also gained admittance into Ireland, and 
now abounds there as much as in England. Out of Europe the 
same extension of range has been going on. In New Zealand and 
Australia Rabbits, introduced either for profit or sport, have increased 
to such an extent as to form one of the most serious pests that the 
farmers have to contend against, as the climate and soil seem to 
suit them perfectly, and their natural enemies are too few and 
too lowly organised to keep their numbers within reasonable hounds. 
In other cases Rabbits introduced into islands have become or 
remained more or less distinct from their parent stock; thus the 
Rabbits both of the Falkland Islands and of Jamaica still show traces 
of their descent from domesticated varieties, and have never reverted 
to the ordinary brownish-gray type. And again, as was pointed 
out by Mr. Darwin,! the Rabbits in the island of Porto Santo, near 
Maderia, whose ancestors were introduced from Spain in 1418 or 
1419, have formed quite a distinct diminutive race, barely half the 
bulk or weight of English Rabbits, and differing in certain slight 
details of colour and habits. 
Bibliography of arene R. Waterhouse. “ Observations of the Rodentia,” 
Mag. Nat. Hist. iii. (1839); alan, Nat. Hist, viii. and x. (1839-42): Id. 
**On the Geographical ce. of the Rodentia,” Proc. Zool. See. 1839. pp. 
162-174; Id. Natural History of the Maminalia, vol. ii. “ Rodentia” (1848) : 
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1 Variations of Aninals and Plants, 2d ed. vol. i. p. 119. 
