222 
AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION, December 30, 1856. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
is of little consequence, as regards the question at issue, 
whether the bees make another queen or not. This im¬ 
portant fact seems to he overlooked by some writers on 
making artificial swarms.— J. Wighton. 
MANAGEMENT [OF BABBITS. 
THE RABBIT-HOUSE. 
In order to breed the fancy Rabbit with any prospect of 
success, it is necessary to provide a suitable house, fitted up 
in such a manner as best to afford those comforts and 
necessaries that their habits require. A spare hay chamber, 
or other well-built, dry outhouse, provided that it be lofty 
and free from all draughts, will answer every end when it is 
not considered worth while building a house on purpose. 
The Rabbit-house should have a window sufficiently large 
to admit of free ventilation when open, and capable of 
admitting light enough to show the stock to an advantage. | 
It should be placed opposite to the hutches, so as to throw 
the light directly upon the Rabbits. If the house be erected 
purposely for fancy Rabbits, it should be built of brick, and 
covered in either with pointed tiles or slates, and in both 
cases the roof is better underdrawn. The window should 
be at the opposite side to that on which the hutches are | 
arranged, and, if possible, let the window be on the sunny 
side. It should be protected from injury at the outside by 
a frame, covered with the ordinary galvanised fencing wire. 
The floor should be either of boards or asphalt. 
Hutches. —The hutches themselves may be either fixed 
or moveable; if the former, it is better to have them all 
alike externally, as this will give uniformity and neatness to 
the whole; but if moveable, they may be constructed | 
according to the taste of the fancier, or the purpose for 
which they are designed. If the hutches are to be fixtures 
they may be erected in rows one above another, in numbers 
suitable to the size of the building and the stock it may be 
desired to keep. 
A. Perspective view of doe’s 
hutch. 
B. Ditto of buck’s hutch. 
C. Sliding division to doe’s 
hutch. 
D. Door to nest box. 
E. Hay racks. 
F. Urine conductor. 
t 
G. Wire doors. 
Each hutch should not be less than two feet from back 
to front, three feet six inches long, and two feet in height. 
The doe’s hutch should have a sliding division about a foot 
from one end, with a hole at one of its extremities, tinned 
round, to prevent the Rabbits gnawing it. The object of this 
slide is to divide off a portion of the hutch about the time the 
doe is expected to kindle, which will present a snug corner 
to receive the nest. It may be withdrawn when the young 
are about a month old, and begin to creep from the nest, 
i thus affording a greater space for their accommodation and 
j gambols. The front of the doe’s hutch should be in two 
t parts ; one with a wooden door a foot in breadth, corre- 
! sponding to the division within, and the other with a wire- 
! framed door, filling up the remainder of the front. These 
I doors should be fixed on hinges, and fasten with wooden 
; buttons. The advantage of having the whole front in doors 
| is, the greater facility it affords for catching the Rabbits, 
j and also for cleaning the hutches out; and I would earnestly 
: impress upon the mind of the young or inexperienced 
fancier the great importance of strict cleanliness in the 
abodes of these animals. The floors should be of inch red 
i deal, which does not readily decay; they should have a 
j slight inclination backwards, to allow of all moisture being 
| carried off by a pipe grooved out at the back of the hutch, 
' as shown by f in the diagram. Each hutch should be fitted 
with a small rack for hay, as seen at e in the diagram. 
A buck’s hutch, when fixed, should be the same as the 
j doe’s, only without the division, and having the whole front 
i either in one large wire door, or two smaller folding doors, 
i meeting in the centre, and fastening by one button. The 
trough best for all purposes is an ordinary spittoon, which 
i is wider at the bottom than the top, and cannot be over- 
I turned, and, moreover, the Rabbits cannot scratch out and 
1 
| 
waste the food. The moveable buck’s hutch should have 
round corners in addition to the aforementioned neces¬ 
saries. Having given a brief sketch of the Rabbit-house 
and fittings, I have only to add, how great an advantage it . 
is to have the hutches lime-washed out two or three times 
a year, both for the health of the stock and the general 
appearance.—P. B. 
WARWICK CASTLE. 
Some years since I visited Warwick Castle, and was so 
highly delighted with the first sight of this noble monument 
of England’s ancient grandeur, that, in passing through 
Warwick by rail the other week, I could not resist the j 
chance of having another look. As I had previously seen it 
from the Upper Warwick Road from Leamington, I made 
dire.ct for the arched entrance ; but to any one that has not | 
seen it, and can spare time, I would strongly advise getting 
out at Leamington, and driving or walking along this beau¬ 
tiful road, as it is from thence the visitor ought to have the 
first impression to give justice to this warrior’s home. 
I have seen many castles and palaces; but I have never 
seen one, in my opinion, equal to Warwick Castle, viewed 
from this road. The sky outline, stamped with its various j 
ancient warlike towers; the base, or ground outline, skirted 
by the slow-flowing Avon ; the noble bridge, backed by the i 
dark, massive foliage of the Cedars of Lebanon, intermingled 
with the graceful, waving Birch and Larch, Ac., form a 
whole that, without much alteration, some of our huge 
modern palaces will never equal. The entrance outside 
from the town may be compared to the lid of a rough-hewn ; 
