SC - alomonds vs, walnuts

[Oughton, Karin (GEIS, Tirlan)]

> The Romans also introduced rabbits to England. The rabbits don't seem
> to have survived that long after the Romans left. Do we have any evidence
> of whether the almond trees did?
> 
	Whoa - am I missing something crucial here? Rabbits WERE brought in
by the Romans and although they dropped in number for a while during the
dark ages, they were important throughout the middle ages as a food source,
as evidenced by the large numbers of medieval warrens found in the grounds
of our stately homes. I did not think they disappeared completely.

	A *fun* piece of folklore/data that I picked up verbally somewhere
on a an English Heritage trip, and that I'd love to get
authenticated/documented becuase it sounds so improbable - did you know that
rabbits don't naturally burrow? That's why their numbers dropped so much,
becuase man was no longer digging cosy little homes for them - they have
been 'taught' to burrow by (loosely) medieval man : ) who had 'warreners' (
warren  is a common first/surname in certain parts of the UK) who were in
charge of building warrens for them in order to farm the meat- clever little
buggers, aren't they : ). Also goes to show that factory farms have been
around a lot longer than some people realise.

	Karin.
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