thus, one breeder tells me that with the
smaller kinds he has hardly ever raised a whole litter of the same colour:
with the large lop-eared breeds "it is impossible," says a great
judge,[257] "to breed true to colour, but by judicious crossing a great
deal may be done towards it. The fancier should know how his does are bred,
that is, the colour of their parents." Nevertheless, certain colours, as we
shall presently see, are transmitted truly. The dewlap is not strictly
inherited. Lop-eared rabbits, with their ears hanging flat down on each
side of the face, do not transmit this character at all truly. Mr. Delamer
remarks that, "with fancy rabbits, when both the parents are perfectly
formed, have model ears, and are handsomely marked, their progeny do not
invariably turn out the same." When one parent, or even both, are oar-laps,
that is, have their ears sticking out at right angles, or when one parent
or both are half-lops, that is, have only one ear dependent, there is
nearly as good a chance of the progeny having both ears full-lop, as if
both parents had been thus characterized. But I am informed, if both
parents have upright ears, there is hardly a chance of a full-lop. In some
half-lops the ear that hangs down is broader and longer than the upright
ear;[258] so that we have the unusual case of a want of symmetry on the two
sides. This difference in the position and size of the two ears probably
indicates that the lopping of the ear results {108} from its great length
and weight, favoured no doubt by the weakness of the muscles consequent on
disuse. Anderson[259] mentions a breed having only a single ear; and
Professor Gervais another breed which is destitute of ears.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Half-lop Rabbit. (Copied from E. S. Delamer's
work.)]

The origin of the Himalayan breed (sometimes called Chinese, or Polish, or
Russian) is so curious, both in itself, and as throwing some light on the
complex laws of inheritance, that it is worth giving in detail. These
pretty rabbits are white, except their ears, nose, all four feet, and the
upper side of tail, which are all brownish-black; but as they have red
eyes, they may be considered as albinoes. I have received several accounts
of their breeding perfectly true. From their symmetrical marks, they were
at first ranked as specifically distinct, and were provisionally named _L.
nigripes_[260] Some good observers thought that they could detect a
difference in their hab