RABBITS ON THE WAR PATH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 285, 30 November 1881, Page 4

RABBITS ON THE WAR PATH.

It has often Btruck me bb aeomewbat carious f<;ct that wild r&hbitß bear each deaily haired to their tame brethren : iv fact, so far as ray experience upon the sutject gee?, I have never come across an instance where the two were found to agree. The following opoo the fu'ject may be worth recording. Having a lot of big lop-ear rabbitß enclosed in a space set apatt for the purpose, I determined one morning to set the lot going at the back of the stabler, aD;i very happy they seemed for & couple of daye. They would go into the large burrows on the back, and come out to gambol and feeJ. In fact, for tbe lime above mentiond they seemed «o ecjoy themselves thoroughly. About 200 y^rds from tbeir new abode, in the earns fi.ld, on the opposite eide, was ft young fir plantation. I know ihere were rabbiis there, but I o-ver (-xpet'.l io ree such a ei^ht &c ray keeper railed ray attention to about seven (,'clofk ir> t c evening on the third d*y after tbe lop-ears had been turted down. AH up the sida of this plantation tbe wiid rabbits seemed to be Bseemb'ed in groups from ten to twenty — r.oce were fer din y. Thf-y &l! seemed to be in a state of deep mediation. How long this lasted I know not, for heerirg the alarm for dinner I was obliged to make tracks, but with n hfeppy thought aa regards the beating f ibat ptant»ticn when the time Brrived ; for there were fifteen rabbits there for every one that I thought I possessed, Next morcing af:er breakfast I was informed that the keeper would be glad to see me. We proceedel to tha field at tha bick of tbe stables, and it was oDly too apparent that a mighty army of brownies, no doubt properly generalled, had be-, sieged the tame ones during the night, the lop-3ars h&d evidently made & eallent resistance, bb the quantity of brown rabbits' bair lying about could testify ; Borne ev*>n with the skin attached to it. There were no corpses, end tbe only spark of life urnidst this I'reary spectacle was a big sick lop-eir, who was sitting high up on a bank with his eyes shut. Upon his being ••ecured and brought to me bis poor ears were found to be in strips. 1 took him home ; all the others disappeared one ofter the other until none remained—"Land and Water."