recent times the sealers have stocked some of the small outlying islets in
the Falkland group with rabbits; and on Pebble Islet, as I hear from
Admiral Sulivan, a large proportion are hare-coloured, whereas on Rabbit
Islet a large proportion are of a bluish colour, which is not elsewhere
seen. How the rabbits were coloured which were turned out of these islets
is not known.

The rabbits which have become feral on the island of Porto Santo, near
Madeira, deserve a fuller account. In 1418 or 1419, J. Gonzales Zarco
(4/23. Kerr 'Collection of Voyages' volume 2 page 177: page 205 for Cada
Mosto. According to a work published in Lisbon in 1717 entitled 'Historia
Insulana' written by a Jesuit, the rabbits were turned out in 1420. Some
authors believe that the island was discovered in 1413.) happened to have a
female rabbit on board which had produced young during the voyage, and he
turned them all out on the island. These animals soon increased so rapidly,
that they became a nuisance, and actually caused the abandonment of the
settlement. Thirty-seven years subsequently, Cada Mosto describes them as
innumerable; nor is this surprising, as the island was not inhabited by any
beast of prey or by any terrestrial mammal. We do not know the character of
the mother-rabbit; but it was probably the common domesticated kind. The
Spanish peninsula, whence Zarco sailed, is known to have abounded with the
common wild species at the most remote historical period; and as these
rabbits were taken on board for food, it is improbable that they should
have been of any peculiar breed. That the breed was well domesticated is
shown by the doe having littered during the voyage. Mr. Wollaston, at my
request, brought home two of these feral rabbits in spirits of wine; and,
subsequently, Mr. W. Haywood sent to me three more specimens in brine, and
two alive. These seven specimens, though caught at different periods,
closely resembled each other. They were full grown, as shown by the state
of their bones. Although the conditions of life in Porto Santo are