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Show 108 DOMESTIC RABBITS. F.t g.o". - llnlf-lop Rabbit. (Copied from E. S. Dclamer's work.) CHAP. IV. d . ht favoured no doubt by the from its great length an wmg ' d' Anderson 13 h 1 s consequent on Isuse. weakness of t e musc_e 1 ·nglo ear. and Professor mentions a breed ba vmg on y a SI ' b 1 h'ch is destitute of ears. Gervais another reec. w ' . d (sometimes called Chinese, Tho m·igin of tho Hn~alayan ~ree b j] r'n itself and as throw- . h R · ) 1s so curwus, o~ 1 ' ~r Poll. ' ol~· l tussra~he complex laws of inheritance, that it is mg some w 1 on h't cept . . b . d t il Those pretty rabbits are w I e, ex worth grvmrr m 0 a · ·a f t '1 h' h . o ll f . feet and tho upper sr e o ar ' w rc their ears, nose, a om ' h d e os they may bo are all brownish-black; but as they. ave re . ly ' ts of their consr. dero d as al Lu'm oos. I have roceJVed severa a· cc1o un k they . .r t 1 t . o From their symmetnca mar s, broedmg penec Y ru · . · d ·e provi-wore at first ranked as specifically dtstmct, an t:ei ht that sionally named L. nigr·ipes.H ~ome ~ood o?servers o~f mainthey could detect a difference m theu habit:, an~ .sto_u y 11 tained that they formed a new species. Thmr orrgm IS ndoi:Ve A ··t . . 1857 15 stated that he had produce una-known. wu ei, In ' B · · fi. t necessary 1 ·abbits in tho following manner. ut It IS IS . . ~~:;/ to describe two other breeds: silver-greys_ or srl::rsprigs generally have black heads and legs, and thell' fin\g. y fur is interspersed with numerous black and white long aus. 13 • An Account of the different Kinds 14 'Proc. Zoolo~. Soc.,' J unc 23rd, Of Rhecp in tho Russian Domiuions,' 1857, p. 159. 57 141 1794~, p. 39. 1r. 'Cottage Gardonrr,' 18 'P· · CHAP. IV. TilE IIIMALAYAN BREED. 10!) They breed perfectly true, and have long been kept in warrens. When they escape and cross with common rabbits, the product, as I hear from Mr. Wyrloy Birch, of Wrotham Hall, is not a mixture of the two colours, but about half take after tho one parent, and the other half after tho other parent. Secondly, chinchillas or tame silver-greys (I will use the former name) have short, paler, mouse or slate-coloured fur, interspersed with long, blackish, slate-coloured, and white hairs.16 These rabbits breed perfectly true. Now, the writer above referred to had a breed of chinchillas which had been crossed with the common black rabbit, and their offspring were either blacks or chinchillas. These latter were again crossed with other chinchillas (which bad also been crossed with silver-greys), and from this complicated cross Himalayan rabbits were raised. From these and other similar statements, Mr. Bartlett 17 was led to make a careful trial in the Zoological Gardens, and he found that by s.imply crossing silver-greys with chinchillas he could always produce some few Himalayans·; and the latter, notwithstanding their sudden origin, if kept separate, bred perfectly true. The Himalayans, when first born, are quite white, and are then true albinoes ; but in tho course of a few months they gradually assume their dark ears, nose, feet, and tail. Occasionally, however, as I am informed Ly Mr. W. A. Wooler and the Rev. W. D. Fox, the young are born of a very pale grey colour, and specimens of such fur were sent me by tho former gentleman. Tho grey tint, however, disappears as the animal comes to maturity. So that with these Himalayans there is a tendency, strictly confined to early youth, to revert to the colour of the adult silver-grey parent-stock. Silver-greys and chinchillas, on the other hand, present a remarkable contrast in their colour whilst quite young, for they are born perfectly black, but soon assume their characteristic grey or silver tints. The same thing occurs with grey horses, which, as long as they are foals, are generally of a nearly black colour, but soon become grey, and get whiter and whiter as they grow older. Hence the usual rule is that Himalayans are born white and afterwards become in certain parts of their bodies dark-coloured; whilst 16 'Journal of Horticulture,' April 17 Mr. Bartlett, in' P1'oc. Zoolog. Soc.,' 9th, 1861, p. 35. 1861, p. 40. |