70 



JACK RABBITS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



was 3,333,933, or an average of 39,750 for tlie eighty -four years for 

 which statistics are available. 



Eabbit skins have formed a large item of export from Australasia, 

 chiefly from the colonies of Xew Zealand, Tasmania, and Victoria, for 

 nearly twenty years. In Victoria the number exported increased nearly 

 fifteenfold from 1876 to 1893, when it reached 10,371,154:. Shipments 

 from New Zealand were trebled between 1879 and 1893, reaching in 

 the latter year over 17,000,000, valued at about £140,000 or nearly 

 8700,000. The follovring table shows the number of skins exported 

 from Australasia so far as figures are avaihible : 



Export of Rabbit Skins from Australia, Neve Zealand, and Tasmania. 





Ke\r Zealand. 



TaamanJa. | Victoria. 1 S. Australia. 



Year. 



Number of 

 Bkina. 



Value. 



NumWof ^^„,. 



Number of 



BkiUR. 



1 Pack- 



Value. ages 



1 skins. 



Value. 



1873 



t36 716 



*1 M-l 



1 













56! 504 ' i; 878 



111,142 3.913 



311.632 4,418 



918, 230 8. 030 



636. 409 33, 460 



5, :i84. 506 ! 46. 799 



7,505,616 66,976 



8. 514. 685 ! 84. 774 



9 198,837 ' 88 725 









' 





1875 



1 











1876 







724.985 

 700,565 



JE6. 711 



5 790 







1877 







. 





1878 







711,844 6.206 

 1. 036. 372 7. 322 

 3.309,408 21,674 

 4,473, 108 32,217 

 4, 929. 4:12 37, 538 









1879 











1S80 













1881 











1882 



1 AAi ain Pir, ana 









1883 



9,891.805 i 100,955 I! 735. 856 

 9,807.665 107.514 1,73(1,628 

 9,168,114 a5,754 2,872.896 

 8.546,254 65.694 1,184.862 

 12,743,452. 111.172 2.181,068 

 11.809,407 01,908 ],!»61,576 

 11,342.778 96,039 1.819.547 

 12,543,293' 111.880 2.991.316 

 14 302.233 126.2.'.l 3,241,351 

 15.899,787 121.775 3.180.104 

 17.041.106 138.952 3,590.474 

 14,267,365 87,993 3,541 464 









1884 



14. 537 ; 4. 963, 371 37, 248 

 22,572 1 3,424,259 23.548 

 7, 400 910. 600 6. 800 

 17..'i55 2.663.314 10,2»4 

 12.661 t 3.967.5.33 20,759 

 11.. 109 3,429,015 j 12,303 

 24. 362 ' 4, 913, 351 25, 667 

 19 571 6.3.59 210 31 387 







1885 



86 

 35 

 398 

 725 



£883 



1886 



602 



1887 



7 634 



1888 



578 



1889 



208 1 3, 081 

 594 11,320 



1891 



613 1 9 239 



1892 



1893 



1894 



17.0'.t7 

 23, 278 



7,501,864 31,905 

 10, 374, 154 1 55, 039 



40C 8.790 

 419 6,968 











Total'.... 



180. 037. 562 



1.586,723 



31,912,182 



222.562 



68.637,990 



408,747 



4,564 



68,9.58 



Tlie imi)ortation of Australian rabbit skiii.s in London, as shown by 

 reports of sales, aggregated 8,210 bales in 1890-91, and from July, 

 1894, to July, 189."i, amounted to 13,140 bales, eaiMi averaging about 

 400 pounds and containing about 4,000 skins. The total number in 

 1894-95 was, therefore, about .■i2,500,OO(> skiii.s valued (at $70 per bale) 

 at nearly .i<l,0O0,0(K). 



It .should be noticed that no less than one third of the Australian 

 skins .sent to London are said to be e.\]>orted to New York. There 

 are now 20 cutters of hatter's fur in America, employing about 100 

 machines. Each machine will cut on an average 1,200 skins a day, 



♦Compiled from Stalistios Colonv New Zealaml. 1881-1890; New ZeaLind Year Books. 1891-1896; 

 Statist icH Colonv Ta.sinaiiia. 1882-1894; Virtonan Year liook. 1893. II, ]). 202. 181»4. I. p. 437; StatisticAl 

 Kegi.st.r South Australia. 188.V.18'.U. 



iTlir ntiirns Iroiii New Ziulaiid for 1873- 18K0 are taken from U. S. fonsnlar IJepfa.,VI. 1882. p. 122 

 The values an only apjiroxinuite. Ixinc red nco«l from dollarH nt ilie rate of ill $.".— the rate apimr 

 entlv used in olit;iinin>; the value lor 1881 in the CouHular Hejiort. IJeturiiB for 1891-1894 are taken 

 from the Year Hooks under ri'i>orts of export of wool. 



;The total exports froju .\ustralasia ran not be iditained from these figures ns some of the skins 

 from New /.ealuiid and 'rasnninia were sliip|H'd to other etdonies. partieularly Vietoria, and sueh skins 

 may have been reexported ; e. j:-. the dir»M-t exports from Tasmania to Kiirope from 1880 to 1882 fonn<<<l 

 a very small perceuUge of the total vzporttt, the bulk of the skins being sbipiieU to Victoria. 



