3-039-211 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The months: May, 1871. 'Our artist must have lived in a burrow, or by some other subterraneous means have acquired his perfect knowledge of the habits of the rabbit race. The positions of the pretty furred creatures in his sketch are very natural. The old ones, with their family, around them, are having a day's outing; a bright May morning has tempted them to leave their snug home underground, and to enjoy a gambol on the furze common. The sage old mother, who sits dreaming, one would suppose, while her little ones jump and play, is not so oblivious to the world around as she seems. She has her ears wide open, to catch the sound of any enemy's approach, whether four-footed or two-footed. The step of the shepherd, on his way to tend his flocks, will send all the rabbits helter-skelter, scampering back to their burrows...It is well known that rabbits multiply faster than any quadrupeds of their size'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.