al, and we see that the actual capacity of their skulls is less
than in the wild animal, and considerably less by calculation (column
7), according to the difference in the length of their skulls. The
narrowness of the brain-case in these three rabbits could be plainly
seen and proved by external measurement. The Chinchilla rabbit (No. 14)
is a considerably larger animal than the wild rabbit, yet the capacity
of its skull only slightly exceeds that of the wild rabbit. The Angora
rabbit, No. 13, offers the most remarkable case; this animal in its
pure white colour and length of silky fur bears the stamp of long
domesticity. It has a considerably longer head and body than the wild
rabbit, but the actual capacity of its skull is less than that of even
the little wild Porto Santo rabbits. By the standard of the length of
skull the capacity (see column 7) is only half of what it ought to have
been! I kept this individual animal alive, and it was not unhealthy nor
idiotic. This case of the Angora rabbit so much surprised me, that I
repeated all the measurements and found them correct. I have also
compared the capacity of the skull of the Angora with that of the wild
rabbit by other standards, namely, by the length and weight of the
body, and by the weight of the limb-bones; but by all these standards
the brain appears to be much too small, though in a less degree when
the standard of the limb-bones was used; and this latter circumstance
may probably be accounted for by the Limbs of this anciently
domesticated breed having become much reduced in weight, from its
long-continued inactive life. Hence I infer that in the Angora breed,
which is said to differ from other breeds in being quieter and more
social, the capacity of the skull has really undergone a remarkable
amount of reduction.

From the several facts above given,--namely, firstly, that the actual
capacity of the skull in the Himalayan, Moscow, and Angora breeds, is less
than in the wild rabbit, though they are in all their dimensions rather
larger animals; secondly, that the capacity of the skull of the large
lop-eared rabbits has not been increased in nearly the same ratio as the
capacity of the skull of the smaller wild rabbits has been decreased; and
thirdly, that the capacity of the skull in these same large lop-eared
rabbits is very inferior to that of the hare, a