679 
fences, and spent most of their income on driulc. 
Of course if now looks dilapidated and run down. 
But some one with brains, capital and energy can 
restore it in a few years, double his money and have 
a most attractive farm home in a location as ideal as 
any I know of in the East. thebox mccampbell. 
Monmouth Co., X. .T. 
The Best Rabbits for Meat 
ES IRA BI.E BREEDS.—The meat of practically 
all rabbits is suitable for food; yet only a few 
kinds can be raised profitably. Moreover, there is a 
general disinclination to the use of common white 
rabbits on the table. These rabbits are said to have 
flesh which is too sweet to be very palatable, but 
in any event they are not to be included among the 
utility animals. Europe has rather a long list of 
breeds considered to be valuable for food, but 
Flemish Oiants Are Favorite Meat Rabbits. Fig. 173 
breeders in the United States and Canada confine 
themselves chiefly to Belgian hares, Flemish Giants 
and New Zealand Beds. There are various kinds of 
giant rabbits which might be used for food if plen¬ 
tiful enough, but the common Flemish Giant is the 
one usually set down as the meat rabbit. 
THE BELGIAN HARE.—The Belgian hare is by 
all means the best known and the most widely raised. 
It is a very prolific rabbit, and the meat is of high 
quality. Many breeders, however, prefer the Flemish 
Giant because of its large size. Specimens weighing 
10 pounds are common and occasionally one twice 
that weight is found. As Belgian hares run only 
from six to nine pounds considerably more meat, is 
obtained from the Giants. On the other hand, the 
meat of these big rabbits is coarser than that of the 
smaller Belgian, and the flavor is not considered 
quite so good, except of course by breeders of 
Itlaelc Siberians Art' 1 erg Docile. Fig. 17) 
Flemish Giants, who often claim it to be the equal 
of any other breed known. Then the Flemish Giant 
grows more slowly, not being mature until it is 32 
months old. For a long time only these two breeds 
were offered in the general market. Of late years, 
however, a breed known as the New Zealand Red 
has achieved extreme popularity on the Pacific coast, 
and is rapidly coming into favor among Eastern 
breeders. This rabbit has some special merits, and 
may prove to be the best commercial sort yet raised 
in this country. 
NEW ZEALAND REDS.—In spite of their useful¬ 
ness it is an admitted fact that both the Belgian 
hare and the Flemish Giant are hearty eaters, and 
that there is a large amount of waste when they are 
dressed for the table. Many English breeders can¬ 
didly admit these facts, and say that some other 
breeds are more profitable. It is claimed for the 
New Zealand Red that it consumes less food than 
even the Belgian, which because of its smaller size 
eats much less than the Flemish Giant. When 
dressed for the table the New Zealand Red weighs 
about two pounds more than the Belgian, and the 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
meat is just as fine grained, palatable and nutritious. 
In parts of California the New Zealand Red is about 
the only rabbit seen. It is also raised extensively 
in the other Pacific coast States, many breeders 
having adopted it in place of Belgians and Giants. 
It seems to be perfectly hardy in any part of the 
continent, although just how the Eastern climate 
will eventually act upon it remains to be seen. 
Apparently it is a little more difficult to get large 
specimens east of the Rocky Mountains-than it is 
on the Pacific coast. 
AGE FOR MARKETING.—Most rabbits are ready 
for the table when about four months old. Although 
Flemish Giants are slow to mature, they make ex¬ 
cellent friers at the age of three months, but should 
be a little older for roasting. It is generally con¬ 
sidered that all commercial rabbits are best for the 
table if killed before they are a year old. Never¬ 
theless rabbits two years old make very good eating. 
It is a common plan when raising rabbits com¬ 
mercially to keep a doe until the end of her second 
year, and then to market her. her place as a breeder 
being taken by a younger doe. Usually the bucks 
are disposed of when young, except for a particu¬ 
larly .good specimen which is being retained for 
breeding purposes. If rabbits are being raised for 
market, it is always a good plan to castrate the 
young bucks, when they can be kept together with 
less fighting. Although two people are required, 
the operation is easily performed after a little ex¬ 
perience has been acquired. 
CA I ERING TO DEMAND.—Although breeders 
are likely to make extravagant claims for the par¬ 
ticular kind of rabbits which they happen to be 
raising, the amateur can confidently begin with any 
of the breeds named. As he goes on. lie probably 
will do a little experimenting, and may find that 
one particular kind will prove more profitable than 
any other. There is always the matter of oue’s mar¬ 
ket to be considered. In some places very large 
rabbits may be wanted without much regard to 
quality, while in others smaller animals may be in 
demand. For home eating the writer’s preference 
is for Belgian hares, probably because he has had 
more experience with them than with any other 
kind. There seems to be some evidence, though, to 
support the claim that New Zealand Reds are a little 
easier to raise. Very much depends upon the strain, 
whatever breed may be kept, just as with poultry. 
Some breeders are able to produce very much better 
stock than others. There has been so much in- 
breeding with Belgian hares, and so much attention 
has been given to producing show animals, that many 
strains have low vitality and give considerable trou¬ 
ble. except in the hands of experts. 
BREEDING PROBLEMS.—Breeding fancy rabbits 
and food rabbits is quite a different matter. Fanciers 
naturally work for fine points and favor their breed¬ 
ing animals. They may not try to raise more than 
two or three litters a year, and reduce these litrers 
to the best specimens. The utility breeder, on the 
contrary, aims to produce as many animals as he 
can without drawing too heavily on the vitality of 
his stock. He will endeavor to get from four to six 
litters a year from each doe. and will expect her to 
i’ai>e six or seven youngsters. He will keep a limited 
number of bucks, say at the rate of one for each 10 
does. He will raise some specimens which a fan¬ 
cier would not want seen in his pens. The man or 
woman who is keeping only a few rabbits for home 
use will perhaps keep no buck at all. but will have 
his does bred at the rabbitry of some neighbor who 
has a larger stock. It is not economy to keep a buck 
which is going to be used only at long intervals. 
Obviously every fancier will have many rabbits 
which are not good enough to be used for show pur¬ 
poses. or to sell for breeding purposes. Even lie. 
therefore, has a certain number of animals to sell 
for food purposes. e. i. Farrington. 
Remedy for Onion Smut 
XAMBI.ES of TREATMENT.—Onion smut can 
be controlled. At an outlay of from five to 
eight dollars per acre for a simple treatment, aston¬ 
ishing results can be obtained. This was well proved 
last season by the work of Expert Dye of the State 
College, co-operating with the. Williamson Vegetable 
Growers* Association and the Wayne County Farm 
Bureau. Here are some of the figures as tabulated 
from these demonstrations: Leenhout Bros/ South 
Farm, treated rows, S4U.5 bushels per acre: un¬ 
treated rows, 405.2 bushels per acre; Leenhout Bros.* 
West Farm, treated rows. 82(1 bushels per acre; un¬ 
treated rows. 447 bushels per acre; Peter Moll. Jr., 
treated rows. 555 bushels per acre; untreated rows. 
2bt bushels per acre; E. R. Hay, treated rows, 637 
bushels per acre; untreated rows, 5F bushels per 
acre. Fig. 175 shows a comparison of the yield from 
equal areas from the Leenbouts’ South Farm, the 
treated yield being on left and untreated on right. 
Demonstrations will probably again be conducted by 
the Farm Bureau this season. 
»S5 MB TOMS.—As a rule the older fields of muck 
seems to be more affected by smut. Its presence Is 
first shown by the dark spots at varying heights in 
the leaves of the seedlings. When the plant is held 
to the light these are more or less opaque. Soon 
afterwards, usually while the second leaf is develop¬ 
ing. longitudinal cracks begin to show up on one 
side of these spots. These crevices widen and within 
show a dry fibrous mass which is covered by a black, 
sooty powder, made up wholly of the ripened spores 
of the fungus. The spores are blown about or washed 
into the ground. Usually these same smut lesions 
show in the second leaf and in those formed subse¬ 
quently. If the seedling is pulled up later and ex¬ 
amined. the whole plant will be found pervaded by 
( ompartitive Yields of Treated and Untreated 
Onions. Fig. 17 J 
the smut organism. Plants thus diseased usually 
die early, especially if the soil is dry. Some plants 
may make considerable growth and survive even up 
to the time of harvesting. In such specimens the 
smut shows itself by black elevations upon the bulb, 
running down to the base and extending upward 
into the leaves. 
CAT SE.—Smut is caused by a fungus parasite 
which lives from year to year in the soil. Instances 
are on record in which onions planted in a smut 
infested field after an interval of 12 years became 
severely affected by this disease. Only onions grown 
from seed are subject to this disease, and these 
are not attacked by the parasite except in the very 
young stages. Onions grown from sets or trans¬ 
planted from soil free from the organism are not 
subject to smut. 
CONTROL.—Crop rotation is of but very little 
value in reducing smut in a field, since the fungus 
persists for so long a time in the soil. Since the 
onions can be attacked only in the seedling stage. 
Drill Fgnipped with Furmuldehgde Tank. Fig. 17b 
however, sterilization of that soil in the immediate 
vicinity of the germinating seed and seedling plant 
affords a satisfactory and practical means of con¬ 
trol. Formaldehyde solution applied in the furrow 
with the seed at the time of sowing will effectively 
control smut. A solution of the desired strength 
may be made by adding one pint of commercial for¬ 
maldehyde to 16 gallons of water. This solution 
should be applied at the rate of 2t*0 gallons per acre. 
The application may be made by means of a water¬ 
ing device attached to the drill. By this method the 
liquid is discharged in the open furrow either behind 
the seed or directly with it in such a manner as to 
prevent washing of the seed in the row. Tanks of 
three-gallon capacity for this purpose can be readily 
attached to the seed drill. A stop-cock and tank 
outlet of five-sixteenths of an inch bore when opened 
wide, will make the desired application per acre, the 
rate of flow varying somewhat with the arrangement 
of the tank and the size of the conducting tube used. 
A properly equipped drill should discharge when 
stationary, one gallon of the solution every 50 
secouds. ALVAR H. PL'LVEE. 
