Its teeth are beautifully adapted to
the purpose. In the front of both jaws are two long, flat teeth, with,
sharp edges like a chisel. As so much filing and scraping wear away the
teeth very fast, these keep on growing from the root. Each upper front
tooth meets one in the lower jaw, so that the constant rubbing against
each other keeps both the right length. Sometimes one tooth is broken
and the other goes on growing till it stands out like the tusk of an
elephant. Then the poor rabbit, unable to gnaw its food, dies of
starvation.
A tame rabbit should have carrots and turnips to gnaw, and sometimes
young tree-twigs and cabbage stalks. If it has nothing hard to rub its
teeth against, they will grow too fast, and the rabbit will be unable to
bite anything.
[Illustration: AN INTERESTING FAMILY. By S. J. Carter.]
In feeding tame rabbits, try to give them their green food with the dew
upon it. A sprinkling of fresh water will answer the same purpose. They
need plenty of water, and both food and drink must be kept fresh and
sweet. Rabbits love the sunshine. They were made to live in warm, sunny
lands, and they are too often shut up in cold, damp places.
A rabbit is the most timid creature in the world, but the devoted little
mother will fight for her babies if she sees them in any danger.
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