[To the Editor of the SpEcraToa.]
read with interest a letter in last week's Spectator sug- gesting rabbit-keeping as one of the new industries to help distressed Aberdare. The idea is excellent, but .why start with rabbits whose fur, must be dyed before it is put on the
market, when already there is in England the new agricultural industry .of fur-farming. which supplies undyed pelts ready to wear without the need of dyeing nor the danger of dermatitis which lurks in cheap dyed furs ? These undyed pelts are beautiful, and can be had in all shades—blue, lilac, greys,
browns and -white; and can be supplied either ticked, striped or plain. Their Royal Highnesses Princess Mary and the Duchess of york both .accepted coats made from them on- their marriages. - The ,top prices offered by the- Fur, Board Limited (a cor operative society under the.aegis of the Ministry.of Agriculture, witha capital already of over £10,000) range .from 10s. 6d. to 58., according to the variety_ of -rabbit., The carcase, if pro- perly marketed,• should realize at least 2s..41. These rabbits
can be reared satisfactorily at 1 Id. per -week till killing age
at six-seven months, but the Harper - Adams, Agricultura. College is working out an even cheaper ratio. They thrive on the green waste of gardens supplemented with hay.- • New; breeds are appearing .daily. At the rabbit show staged at. Westminster by the British -Fur Rabbit Society, and opened by the Minister of Agriculture in December, there were
twenty-four new varieties in a special class for them: ..
In conclusion, may I add I shall be only too pleased to back Mrs. Murray's suggestions, if amended on up-to date lines, with the gift of a pedigree mated lilac doe to an unem- ployed miner recommended by the Aberdare Fund, and will try to induce others to do the same.--I am, Sir, &c.,
F. GERTRUDE LATHAM
(Member of the British Fur Rabbit Society and the Fur Board).
The Ohl Rectory, Offord Cluny,:Huntingdon. .
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