,,^»^ n i teo^t at e s 

 ■department" 



^ \7iTH u::aE smi'S naturalists 



HOT FOR PUBLICATION 



OFJF.ieE OB-^ 

 INFORMATION^ 



R 



^ff 'February; If/ 31. 

 • til 



1 



A I-Ix'TOUITGH.'ENT ; And nov/ for another of those visits v/ith Uncle*"5ani ' s Natiiralists 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture. Our Wildsr.ian has been on the 

 trail of a fur coat, and the trail seems to have led him right hack out of the 

 woods But you tell them, Mr, Wildsman. 



Many a fine-looking garnent is made of rabbit skins — Only they don't 

 call them that. Rabbit fur goes by a lot of other names. "Electric Seal," for 

 instance, is made from rabbit fur clipped and dyed to look like seal. Beaverctte 

 is a fairly good imitation of beaver made from rabbit. I^ct is, there is a wide 

 variety of trade names for rabbits in the form of fur coats. And, of course 

 you know, another big use for rabbits is for felt hats, and for linings for 

 gloves. 



Hownv-.', those are not the kind of rabbits you get when you go out hunt- 

 ing. Pelto of the wild cottontail rabbits found in abundance in the United 

 States, and of the wild haros corrnonly called jack rabbits, are thin and poor 

 in quality and of practically no use to the furrier. Enorraous quantities of 

 rabbit skins are imported from Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, and 

 other foreign co\intries. These skins meet the demands of the American fur trade 

 and are used extensively in the manufacture of fur garments and of the trimming 

 for cloth coats. Every dauestic rabbit skin, however, with the exception of 

 those from cho Angora rabbit, has commercial fur value, regardless of size or 

 color. Purc-v/hito skins are preferable because they can be dyed light, dark, or 

 mediu.-. shadvii of any color dar.anded by the far trade. Breeding has greatly im- 

 proved the aomestic rabbits for these purposes as compared with their relatives 

 the carj.-.on wild cottontails and our native hares, or jack rabbits. Produced 

 under conditions that favor raipid growth, the young hutch-raised rabbits reach 

 an average weight of U pounds at 8 weeks of age — a size equal to or larger than 

 that of cottontails in throe tiiVies as long a period. 



Frora what Mr. John Meyer, Director of the United States Rabbit Experi- 

 ment Station, at Fontana, California, tells me, some folks have the mistaken 

 idea that domestic rabbit ncot is only good to eat in the seasons of early fall 

 and \7inter when '.vild rabbits are hunted. Domestic rabbit is in season all the 



year round. Yes Yes, I know v/e started to talk about fur 



but the rabbit, you know, is a tv;o-purj)ose fininal. Domestic rabbits are utilizec 

 for both fur and meat. 



In fact, it is only by selling both the fur and the meat that rabbit rais- 

 ing can be carried on profitably. Rabbit fur is popular because of its light 

 weight and because it is not very expensive. The individual pelts don't bring 

 high prices. 



