158 CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF RABBITS 
eater of the two. He certainly is the most 
expensive. The breeder can generally afford 
one pure-bred doe, pedigreed if not registered, 
and there is no reason for maintaining a herd 
of run-down scrubs which return little or no 
income on the investment. 
As in other forms of live stock, the most 
important element in selecting the breeding 
stock is health and constitutional vigor. 
Without vigor an animal is not a good breeder. 
That should be self evident to all who know 
anything about breeding at all. 
Pure bred animals generally have health 
and vigor. That is due to the fact that their 
blood lines have been carefully preserved and 
they have had the sort of care and attention 
which fosters good constitutional vigor and 
stamina. Do not breed runts. You might as 
well try to breed mules to eagles and succeed 
in getting something worth while. 
Constitutional vigor is apparent in many 
ways. The individual animal will have a 
strong, robust, upstanding appearance. His 
