BREEDING AND CARE OF RABBITS 



weight. After the litter is entirely disposed of or 

 matured, the essential facts of its lineage and devel- 

 opment thus become available record for study and 

 comparison. Thereby unwise procedures may be much 

 reduced and those more fortunate repeated. 



To find the profit percentage to date from tirne lit- 

 ter was weaned and the doe's expense gotten rid of, 

 add the items in cost and income columns and divide 

 the difference between these sums by the cost. 



The purpose of the Weight Chart shown on page 

 220 is to illustrate graphically the weight development 

 as determined by the Litter Record. The weight in- 

 crease is described by the vertical, and the age by the 

 horizontal graduations. For development study it is 

 unimportant to compare weights under six weeks of 

 age, as litter weights are not representative earlier. 

 Then and thereafter weekly litter weights are obtained 

 and the averages shown on column four of the Litter 

 Record are platted on the Weight Chart. For this 

 process the decimal system is assumed. 



Those unfamiliar with such work will readily com- 

 prehend this method by comparing the Litter Record 

 weights with the Weight Chart diagram and noting 

 that the lines of progress pass through the points 

 where recorded weight and age interesect. 



Referring to the Litter Record, page 202, we find 

 the average weight of Litter Record No. 3 at six weeks 

 and after to be 2.40, 3.20, 3.55, 4.60, etc., that same are 

 correspondingly platted on the Weight Chart and lines 

 drawn connecting the points. It will be noticed that 

 the litter grew rapidly while with the doe. dropped a 

 little after weaning, picked up on the ninth week when 

 hot weather and a lot of rather poor alfalfa caused a 



208 



