THE RABBIT OR CONY 



the bushes of this plant are so constantly trimmed by the animals' teeth 

 that they assume curious shapes, and often look like foot-stools. 



There are few garden flowers or shrubs which escape the Rabbit's 

 attention, especially when freshly planted, as anything newly put in seems 

 always to tempt his appetite. 



Mr. J. E. Harting, in his account of the Rabbit (" Fur and Feather 

 Series," p. 6), refers to the difference in the manner of attacking turnips 

 shown by this species compared with the Hare. The latter " will bite 

 off the peel and leave it on the ground ; a rabbit will eat peel and all." 



When preparing her nursery, the doe generally seeks some situation 

 far removed from the rest of the community. Here she excavates a 

 burrow running several feet under ground, and at the farthest end makes 

 a nest of dry bents or siniilar material, and lines it with fur from her 

 own belly. From five to eight or nine naked and blind young are 

 born at a time. They are visited and fed by the mother at night, who 

 carefully closes the entrance of the * stop ' or burrow before leaving 

 them in the early morning. 



I have seen a doe in broad daylight on a summer morning stealing 

 quietly away from the neighbourhood of her burrow, which she had 

 made in a flower bed not far from my window. 



Occasionally Rabbits have been known to produce their young in a 

 nest or form on the ground, after the manner of a Hare. 



As a rule the Rabbit is a silent animal, though it will scream loudly 

 when in pain or fear. When suspicious of danger or alarmed they have 

 a way of stamping loudly with their hind feet as a warning to their 

 neighbours, and also make use of their white tails as a danger signal. 



When travelling to and fro Rabbits keep to favourite tracks or runs 

 among grass and herbage, and, if these beaten paths are closely examined, 

 they will show that the footsteps are placed at regular intervals and 



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