242 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
A U4 
Dove-Cote and Rabbiiry. 
against cattle and horses. It does not appear, howev¬ 
er, that any excavation is necessary—the rabbits will 
probably do quite as well if kept on the surface. 
But rabbits are more commonly kept in huts or 
ei hutches. 7 ’ In regard to the mode of making these, 
and the general management of the animals, we 
copy the following from the u Farming for Ladies:” 
il The breeding hutch, as being the habitation of the 
doe, is always the larger and contains a double apart¬ 
ment—one for the nest, and the other for the feeding 
room of the young, when old enough to eome into it. 
The best size is about four feet long by two and a-half 
feet wide, and eighteen inches to two feet high; but 
they are often made smaller, and those not meant for 
breeding, are seldom more than two-thirds that size. 
They arc latticed with wire in the front of each, as, if 
made of laths, the rabbits would gnaw them; but the 
division parted off for the reception of the breeding 
nest, is closed both at the front and sides, leaving only 
a small door in the interior for the entrance of the doe: 
indeed an inner division with a sliding door is used for 
confining the rabbits while the outer part is cleaned. 
There should also be a moveable feeding trough, which 
should be regularly taken away after every mealj for 
rabbits, like horses, if allowed to blow upon their food 
will not afterwards eat it, unless pressed by serious 
hunger. The troughs should be made of tin or iron, 
to allow of their being easily cleaned; and should have 
separate compartments, of not more than four inches 
long, both for different sorts of food, as well as to pre¬ 
vent the rabbits from getting their feet into the trough 
and throwing out their corn. Some persons even add 
a small rack at one end of the hutch, for the purpose 
of containing the hay on which they feed; but the small 
quantity usually given, is more commonly left on the 
floor. The trough should be either inserted as a draw¬ 
er, or if placed outside, the butch should be covered by 
a hinged flap to shut and open, in either the front or 
one end. The floor is commonly pierced with holes to 
allow the escape of the urine; but, as the greatest at¬ 
tention is necessary to be observed in the cleansing, it 
is a good plan to have a false bottom, which may be 
drawn out like that of a bird cage, for the removal of 
the excrement, and ought to be every morning scraped 
and strewed with a little sand, or, in cold weather, co¬ 
vered slightly with refuse hay; for rabbits will never 
thrive unless kept dry and clean.” 
u Hutches of this description, well made and of good 
material, will not cost more than from eight to ten or 
twelve shillings, [two to three dollars,] according to 
their size. Any carpenter or joiner can make them 
with these directions, and we have lately seen one of 
the largest size, in every respect well fitted for breed¬ 
ing, the prie© of which was half a guinea—[abou 1 
$2.50.] 
u The hutches if numerous, may be placed over 
each other, and are sometimes ranged round an out¬ 
house kept for that purpose; but is seldom necessary 
for small families, and the better way is to put them 
upon a stand in the open air against some sheltered 
wall, for a too confined atmosphere is not natural to 
them, and if kept in a close room they emit a faint and 
unpleasant odor. The hatch should, however, be cov¬ 
ered at night, as cold will prevent them from breeding 
in the depth of winter.” 
In this country, rabbits are chiefly kept as objects 
of amusement, but in England they are reared for their 
flesh, and large numbers of them are sold in the mar¬ 
kets. Their flesh, especially when young, is well tas¬ 
ted and wholesome; for invalids it is considered equal¬ 
ly as proper as that of fowls. They are generally 
killed u from the teat,” while they are from four to 
six weeks old. They weigh at that age, if well fed. 
from two to three pounds, u trussed for the table.” 
There are several varieties, some of which are high¬ 
ly prized by fanciers. Some are very large, reaching 
the weight of ten to twelve pounds, or more, dressed; 
and when castrated and well fed have been known to 
weigh fifteen pounds each. Mowbray speaks of (l a 
very large variety, of the hare color, having much bone, 
length and depth of carcass, large and long ears, with 
large eyes, resembling those of the hare. They might” 
(he says,) “ well be taken for hybrids or mules, but 
for the objection of their breeding. Their flesh is high 
colored, substantial, and more savory than that of the 
common rabbit - T and they make a good dish cooked like 
the hare, which, at six or eight months old they nearly 
equal in size.” We have seen a few of this variety—* 
they are fine-looking animals. There is another very 
large variety, chiefly of a yellowish brown color, with 
lop ears of enormous length. It is said that the ears of 
one of this variety, which gained a prize from a fancy 
Ci Rabbit Club” in London, measured across the head, 
from the tip of one ear to the outer edge of the other 
20] inches. These are sometimes called .Spanish rabbits. 
But a writer who appears to understand the subject, 
observes -— u For common use we believe the large grey 
rabbit to be the best, though the black and white seem 
to be the favorites among amateur breeders; but any 
sort will do for the hutches, provided they be healthy, 
of good size, short-legged, and broad in the loin.” 
The proper food for rabbits is oats, peas, wheat, 
buck-wheat, Indian corn, with potatoes, tarneps, and 
clover or lucerne, in summer, and nice, well-cured clo¬ 
ver hay in winter. They are similar in constitution 
and habits of feeding to. sheep, and like them are lia¬ 
ble to injury, such as diseases of the liver from eating 
largely of succulent food. Mowbray directs that they 
be fed regularly three times a day, with such quantity 
as they will eat up clean. 
Wire Worm.-—C. W. Johnson details an experi¬ 
ment, where, on a 50 acre field sown with wheat, half 
an acre was preceded by a crop of white mustard. 
This half acre was wholly exempt from the wire worm 
—the rest of the field was much injured. Another 
field of 42 acres, so much infested with the wire worm, 
that nearly every crop for nineteen years was largely 
destroyed by this insect, was then wholly sown'with 
white’mustard. The following year not a wire worm 
could be fou.ni!. He therefore concludes, that by de¬ 
stroying all weeds and roots, and by a careful and clean 
drill culture of the white mustard, the wire worm may 
be expelled. 
The Steam Engine. —It is estimated that steam 
power effects in England a saving of as much labor as- 
could be done by three hundred millions- of men. 
