1]0 DOMESTIC RABBITS: Chap. IV 



square liead ; the so-called Patagonian rabbit lias remarkably 

 short ears and a large ronnd head. Although I ha\-e not seen 

 ail these breeds, I feel some doubt about there being any marked 

 difference in the shape of their skulls. 3 English lop-eared 

 rabbits often weigh 8 lbs. or 10 lbs., and one has been ex- 

 hibited weighing 18 lbs. ; whereas a full-sized wild rabbit 

 weighs only about 3^ lbs. The head or ^kull in all the large 

 lop-eared rabbits examined by me is much longer relatively 

 to its breadth than in the wild rabbit. Many of them have 

 loose transverse folds of skin or dewlaps beneath the throat, 

 which can be pulled out so as to reach nearly to the ends of 

 the jaws. Their ears are prodigiously developed, and hang- 

 down on each side of their faces. A rabbit was exhibited in 

 1867 with its two ears, measured from the tip of one to the 

 tip of the other, 22 inches in length, and each ear 5| inches 

 in breadth. In 1869 one was exhibited with ears, measured 

 in the same manner, 23^ in length and 5^ in breadth ; " thus 

 exceeding any rabbit ever exhibited at a prize show." In a 

 common wild rabbit I found that the length of two ears, 

 from tip to tip, was 7-f inches, and the breadth only 1-| inch. 

 The weight of body in the larger rabbits, and the development 

 of their ears, are the qualities which win prizes, and have 

 been carefully selected. 



The hare-coloured, or, as it is sometimes called, the Belgian 

 rabbit, differs in nothing except colour from the other large 

 breeds ; but Mr. J. Young, of Southampton, a great breeder of 

 this kind, informs me that the females, in all the specimens 

 examined by him, had only six niammre ; and this certainly 

 was the case with two females which came into my pos- 

 session. Mr. B. P. Brent, however, assures me that the 

 number is variable with other domestic rabbits. The common 

 wild rabbit always has ten mamma3. The Angora rabbit is 

 remarkable from the length and fineness of its fur, which 

 even on the soles of the feet is of considerable length. This 

 breed is the only one which differs in its mental qualities, 

 for it is said to be much more sociable than other rabbits, and 



8 The skulls of these breeds are Horticulture,' May Tib, 1861, p. 108. 

 orierly described in the ' Journal of 



