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THE WISCONSIN HORTICULTURIST. 
captivity will probably do no harm," said Dr. Palmer, in 
discussing the matter. "We are not prepared to say it will 
do any harm any way, but we are apprehensive of what may 
happen in case proper safeguards are not taken. While in 
the West recently, Secretary Wilson heard that there were 
no fewer than 50,000 Belgian hares in Los Angeles alone. 
As they were introduced only a year ago last winter, this is 
a large increase. We have been informed that several 
thousand have broken bounds and are at liberty. It is al- 
most inevitable that sooner or later the animals should 
break or burrow out, and if a proper check were not applied, 
they might gain a foothold in this country and rival the 
pest of Australia." 
COMMERCIAL VALUE.-Tbe industry was first exploited 
for its profits, on the ground that there was a market for 
the meat at 15 to 20 cents a pound, and for the fur for the 
manufacture of electric seal. But the rapid spread of the 
industry, and the demand for good breeding animals, soon 
resulted in making the hares too valuable to kill. The val- 
ues have increased to the point where they are believed to 
be largely speculative, as in the case of the Dutch tulip ma- 
nia, and fine animals are now held to be worth from $500 
to $1000 apiece. 
That the rabbit has a commercial value and utility is 
not denied by the Department of Agriculture. On the con- 
trary, Secretary Wilson calls attention to the fact that our 
felt hats are made from rabbit fur, and that the greater 
part of this fur is imported from Australia. Some of it 
comes from Europe, and the smallest part from the wild 
rabbits of this country. In one year, from July, 1894, to 
July, 1895, London imported from Australia 52,560,000 skins 
at a total value of $1,000,000. A third of the London im- 
portation comes later to New York. It is estimated by one 
of the leading hatmakers of the East that his industry con- 
sumes 48,000,000 skins a year, yielding 3,000,000 lbs. of fur, 
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