16 



RAISING BELGIAN HARES AND OTHER RABBITS. 



to prevent its introduction, and new stock obtained should for a time 

 be. kept isolated from the regular hutches. Keeping the hutches in 

 stacks helps to spread the infection. Absolute cleanliness may do 

 much to prevent the disease. AAHienever a number of the young rab- 

 bits under good care assume a pot-bellied appearance, particularly 

 where it is accompanied by symptoms of cold and snuflles, there is 

 reason to suspect that old and apparently healthly animals may be 

 afflicted with chronic coccidiosis and are expelling coccidia from their 

 bodies. Isolation of the affected hutch and its occupants, together 

 with disinfection, are the first steps to be taken while the exact nature 

 of the trouble is being determined. 



If serious diseases affect his stock, the amateur will find it advan- 

 tageous to obtain a standard treatise on the management of rabbits. 

 This will contain detailed instruction for the treatment of the more 

 common ailments. As the business of rearing rabbits is carried on 

 much more extensively in England than in America, the best hand- 

 books are published abroad. They may be obtained through any 

 bookseller. 



CONCLUSION. 



While not affording large profits, the business of raising rabbits 

 in a small way may be made an interesting as well as a reasonably 

 remunerative adjunct to other pursuits. It is adapted to small vil- 

 lage places, as well as to farms, and under careful management the 

 returns from it are likely to increase as one gains experience. Under 

 favorable circumstances it is capable of expansion into a serious voca- 

 tion. The presence of rabbits in inclosures on the farm or on village 

 premises furnishes opportunity for an agreeable change in the family 

 diet, a fact that is of considerable importance when ordinary meats 

 are high priced, or in regions where they are difficult to obtain. 



[A list giving the titles of all Farmers' Bulletins available for distribution 

 will be sent free upon application to a Member of Congress or the Secretary 

 of Agriculture.] 



