Naturalist.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 410, 17 March 1904, Page 3

Naturalist.

/: BABBITS. JSEpMABBITS are changing hands in kondon fabulous prices, but atew they are not Australian rabbits. The breeding of the rodent in England is a hobby which combines pleasure with profit, and when exhibition rabbits are daily changing hands at prices raaging from £3 to .£3O it is no wonder that men spend time, and money over their cultivation. A writer in the 'London Express' states' that £IOO was refused during the Crystal Palace Show in the autumn for 1900 for a winning Belgian hare doe, while £SO for a winning buck was paid." Americans were in England at that time with the object of satisfying the erase then existent in their country for Belgian hares. American medical men have propounded the theory that the flesh of these little animals was better food in every way than anything else, nothing would do but that the best of the breed should be found in the hundreds of Belgian hare rabbitries that spring up in America, The British fanciers, seeing how matters stood, simply sat tight until the most fabulous prices were obtained, £25 being an ordinary figure. One fancier made over £IOOO during the temporary boom. Bat the boom died out. The Belgian hare, so called because of its likeaess in color and form to the wild hare, is alwajs a favorite among the visitors to a show because of its lovely color and * racy' Btyle; £5 to £ls are everyday prices paid for a good specimen, The lob rabbit's beauty lies in its length and breadth of ear, specimens having been shown with ears measuring 21 in. from tip to tip, and 7 in. broad, for which £25 was paid without a murmur. The Flemish Giant is so named because of the tremendous size to which it grows, show specimens having been known to turn the scale as 201b, while those weighing 151b are quite ordinary. Silver-greys —at one time termed chinchillas—silverfawnsi and silver-browns are strikißgly beautiful little animals, with their body color silvered all over, short coats, and, very neat ears. Five pound* was lately paid to a North London fancier for a silver-grey thirteen weeks old, and before it was in fall coat, while £3 to £lO is the price paid for a really good adult, £lB being mentioned as the price given for » doe a short time ago. A peculiarity of the young of the silver grey lies in the fact that they are jet black until about a month old, when the/begin to turn grey on the nose, taking from that age to about four months to 'silver off' completely. One of the latest breeds to enter the show pen is the black and tan, with its companion the blue and tan —a small rabbit colored like the tan terrier. This breed is rapidly gaining popularity, though to this day it shows a fear of strangers, not so often found in other exhibition stock, consequent upon the fact thai its ancestors on one side were, but a few years ago, helping to destroy the farmers' crops. It is essentially a manufactured breed, but the good specimens fetch many pounds a piece. The English rabbit is a largish animal, white, with color dispersed over its body in certain patches and spots, the proper location of those spots determining its show value. Especially is its face curiously marked, the nose being colored in the shape of a butterfly, while it has other important spots and circles round the eye. At the present day there is a specimen of this breed that £2O would not buy from its owner. The Datch rabbit is small—in fact, from a fancier's point of view, diminutive size-is a great consideration—but its chief characteristic is its markings. From the centre of the body the hinder part is colored black, blue, grey, yellow or tortoiseshell, with the exception of the hind feet, which are white for 1J in. from the toe. The fore part of the rabbit is white, with the exception of the head, which is the same color as the hind part, but with a white muzzle from whioh runs a white mark right up the centre of the head to between the.ears. The whole effect of these markings suggested to a lady the picture of a man in his sbirfc and trousers! As far as it is possible this ia a description of the markings as they should be, but many hundreds have to be bred before a properly' marked one is secured. * .