RABBIT. 



pied, and ciuite white ; tiie eyes are of a fine red. Tn their 

 wild ftate they inhabit the temperate and hot parts of 

 Europe, and the hotteft parts of Afia and Africa. " See 

 L.EPUS Cvriicuhu. 



The female, or doe rabbit, goes with young thirty days, 

 and then flic kindles ; and if (he take not buck prefently 

 fhe lofcs her month, or at leall a fortnight, ard often kills 

 her young and eats them. 



In England they begin to breed at a year old, but in 

 fome places much fooner ; and they continue breeding very 

 fall from the time when they begin, four, five, fix, or feven 

 times a year being common with them. They have ufually 

 from four to eight in a litter, and hence it is that a fmall 

 number at firft will foon Hock a whole warren, if left to breed 

 a little while undillurb;d. The does cannot fuckle their 

 young till they have been at buck again ; this therefore is to 

 be done prefently, elfe there is a fortnight loft of the time for 

 tlie next brood, and the prefent brood alfo probably loft. 

 When the buck goes to the doe, he always firft beats and 

 ftamps very hard with his feet, and when he has copulated 

 with her, he falls backwards, and lies, as it were, in a 

 trance ; in this ftate it is cafy to take him, but he foon re- 

 covers from it. 



The buck-rabbits, like our boar-cats, will kill the young 

 ones, if they can get at them ; and the does in the warrens 

 prevent this, by covering their ftocks, or nefts, with gravel 

 or earth, which they clofe fo artificially up with the hinder 

 part of their bodies, that it is hard to find them out. They 

 oevcr fuckle the young ones at any other time than early in 

 the morning, and late at night ; and always, for eight or 

 ten days, clofe up the hole at the mouth of the neft, in this 

 careful manner, when they go out. After this they begin 

 to leave a fmall opening, which they increafe by degrees, 

 till at length, when they are about three weeks old, the 

 mouth of the hole is left wholly open, that they may go 

 out ; for they are at that time grown big enough to take 

 care of themfelves, and to feed on grafs. 



People who keep rabbits tame for profit, breed them in 

 hutches ; but thefe muft be kept very neat and clean, elfe 

 they will be always fubjedl to diieafes. Care muft be taken 

 alfo to keep the bucks and does apart till the latter have 

 juft kindled ; then they are to be turned to the bucks again, 

 and to remain with them till they (hun and run from them. 



The general direction for the choofing of tame rabbits is, 

 to pick the largeft and faireft ; but the breeder fhould re- 

 member, that the fl<ins of the filver-haired ones fell better 

 than any other. The food of the tame rabbits may be cole- 

 vrort and cabbage-leaves, carrots, parfneps, apple-rinds, 

 green corn, and vetches, in the time of the year ; alfo vine- 

 leaves, grafs, fruits, oats, and oatmeal, milk-thilUes, fow- 

 thiftles, and the like : but with thefe moift foods they 

 muft always have a proportionable quantity of the dry foods, 

 as hay, bread, oats, bran, and the Hke, otherwife they v.-ill 

 grow pot-bellied, and die. Bran and grains mixed to- 

 gether have been alfo found to be very good food. In 

 winter they will eat hay, oats, and chaff; and thefe may 

 be given three times a day : but when they eat green tilings, 

 it muft be obferved, that they are not to drink at all, for it 

 would throw them into a dropfy. At all other times, a 

 very little drink ferves their turn, but that muft always be 

 frefh. When any green herbs or grafs are cut for their 

 food, care muft be taken that there is no hemlock among it ; 

 for though they will eat this greedily among other things, 

 when offered to them, yet it is fudden poifon to them. 



Rabbits are fubjeft to two principal infirmities. Firft, 

 the rot, which is caufed by the giving them too large a 

 quantity of greens, or from the giving them frefti gathered. 



with the dew or rain hanging in drops upon them. It i» 

 excefs of moiilurc that always caufes this difeafe ; the 

 greens, therefore, are always to be given dry, and a fufii- 

 cient quantity of hay, or other dry food, intermixed with 

 them, to take up the abundant moifture of their juices. 

 On this account, the very beil food that can be given them 

 is the fhorteft and fweeteft hay that can be got, of which 

 one load will ferve two hundred couples a year ; and out of 

 this ftock of two hundred, two hundred may be eat in the 

 family, two hundred fold to the markets, and a fufficient 

 number kept in cafe of accidents. 



The other general difeafe of thefe creatures is a fort of 

 madnefs : this may be known by their wallowing and tum- 

 bling about with their heels upwards, and hopping in an odd 

 manner into their boxes. This diftemper is fuppofed to be 

 owing to the ranknefs of their feeding ; and the general cure 

 is the keeping them low, and giving them the prickly herb, 

 called tare-th'ijlk, to eat. 



The general computation of males and females is, that 

 one buck rabbit will ferve for nine does ; fome allow ten to 

 one buck : but thofe who go beyond this always fuffer for 

 it in their breed. 



The wild rabbits are to be taken either by fmall cur dogs, 

 or by fpaniels bred up to the fport ; and the places of 

 hunting thofe who ftraggle from their burrows is under 

 clofe hedges or bufties, or among corn-fields and frefti paf- 

 tures. The owners ufe to courfe them with fmall grey- 

 hounds ; and though they are feldom killed this way, yet 

 they are driven back to their burrows, and are prevented 

 from being a prey to others. The common method of 

 taking them is by nets, called purfe-nets, and ferrets. 

 The ferret is fent into the hole to force them out, and the 

 purfe-net being fpread over the hole, takes them as they 

 come out. The ferret's mouth muft be muffled, and then 

 the rabbit gets no harm. For the more certain taking of 

 them, it may not be improper to pitch up a hay-net or two, 

 at a fmall diftance from the burrows that are intended to be 

 hunted : thus very few of the number that are attempted 

 will efcape. The method by the dog, called the lurcher 

 and tumbler, is alfo a very good one. 



Some, who have no ferrets, fraoak the rabbits out of 

 their holes with burning brimftone and orpiment. This 

 certainly brings them out into the nets, but then it is a ver)' 

 troublefome and offenfive method, and is very detrimental to 

 the place, as no rabbit will for a long time afterwards come 

 near the burrows, which have been fumed with thefe ftink- 

 ing ingredients. 



The tefticle of a rabbit is a very good objeft for ex- 

 amining the ftruclure of this part of generation in animals. 

 The tellicles of various animals are very varioufly com- 

 pofed, but all, in general, of veflels varioufly rolled and 

 folded together ; and even the human tefticles are of tlie 

 fame fort, being compofed folely of rolls of veffels, without 

 any intermediate fubftance, only confifting of veffels and 

 their liquors. Phil. Traaf. N" 52. 



The ftvins of rabbits are a great article of commerce, 

 numbers being exported to China : the fur is of great ufe 

 in the hat-manufaftory. 



Rabbit, \x\ Agrkulture, is fometimes employed as farming 

 ftock. It is fufiiciently evident, however, that this is a 

 defcription of farming ftock that can only be attended to 

 with advantage under particular favourable circumftances of 

 foil and fituation. , 



SiluaUons proper for Rabbits. — The praftice of forming 

 rabbit warrens, can only be beneficially Introduced where 

 the lands are not capable of affording crops of tolerable 

 grain or grafs. The great uncertainty of this fort of 



hufbandry 



