RABBITS 



257 



The Fre7ich lop-carcd rabbit may, 

 by good right, be called a useful 

 animal. It is found chiefly in France, 

 though it is not unknown in Ger- 

 many, where it has been imported in 

 large numbers ever since the War 

 of 1S70, when the German soldiers 

 discovered its merits. Its two flop- 

 ping ears hang down on each side 

 of the head and almost touch the 

 ground. It comes in all colors, chiefly 

 gray, but sometimes steel-blue, black, 

 and yellow. 



The English lop-carcd rabbit 

 owes its existence to the French 

 breed. In England novelty is de- 

 sired, — new things before useful 

 things. A rabbit's ears ought to be 

 long ! At first breeders of the ani- 

 mals had recourse to overheating the 

 habitations, so that this English product may 

 rightly be called a hothouse breed. The speci- 

 mens seen at shows are smaller than the French 

 rabbit, but their ears are much longer, those 

 measuring from eighteen to twenty inches being 

 by no means uncommon. Once upon a time this 

 animal was all the fashion in England ; lately it 

 has given place to other breeds. In the matter 

 of utility the English lop-eared rabbit is worth 

 absolutely nothing, for it is feeble, without re- 

 sistance to disease, and serves only to please 



A Light Silver Rabbit 



A White Axooi{.\ Rahp.it 



amateurs who take immense pains and trouble 

 solely to exhibit it at shows. 



The Angora rabbit is one of the most beauti- 

 ful species that exists, and also one of the most 

 useful. A more superb animal can scarcely 

 be imagined. The fur of some of them is over 

 four inches long. The skins are greatly in de- 

 mand, and all sorts of useful articles are made 

 of the fur, — undergarments, stockings, gloves, 

 shawls, and even stuffs. The undergarments 

 are specially beneficial to gouty persons. This 

 animal is often raised by ladies 

 as a pet and for its beauty, 

 so that now it is commonly 

 called "the ladies' rabbit." 

 It finds more admiring breed- 

 ers in France than elsewhere. 

 If more attention were gi\'en 

 to raising it in other coun- 

 tries it woifld soon become 

 a commercial article in great 

 demand. At present manufac- 

 turers cannot obtain enough 

 of its fur to work it with wide 

 success. It could certainly be 

 bred mf)st profitably. The 

 female is x'ery ]Drolific and 

 rears her young with ease. 



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