32 PRACTICAL RABBIT KEEPING 

 its second molt without deterioration in color. 

 The English Lop-eared Rabbit 



For years past the lop-eared rabbit has been 

 especially popular in England. It is bred to 

 some extent in the United States and Canada, 

 but requires warmer quarters and more care- 

 ful attention than most of the other breeds. 

 The one outstanding feature of this rabbit is 

 its ears, which are of abnormal length. These 

 ears are expected to reach twenty-four inches 

 from the tip of one to the tip of the other, and 

 often are longer. The width should be a quar- 

 ter of the total, which would mean six inches 

 for one ear when the extreme length measure- 

 ment is two feet. Naturally the ears always 

 hang at the side of the head. Different dark 

 colors are found among the lop-ears. No suc- 

 cess can be expected in breeding these animals 

 unless they can be kept in heated quarters, and 

 of course their hutches must be kept abso- 

 lutely clean and the floor covered with bed- 

 ding. Otherwise it would be impossible to 

 keep the ears in proper shape, and no end of 

 trouble would ensue. 



