Snowshoe-rabbit G23 



macfarlani Merriam, larger than type, with lonj^er 

 ears; a dusky gray form, darkest of all; hlack on 

 top of tail, and nearly black on rump; feet white. 



dalli Merriam, like macfarlani, but paler and more 

 buffy. 



columbiensis Rhoads, small, dull buffy gray; top of 

 feet brown. 



hairdi Y{3.ydtn, like americanus, but more dusky red- 

 dish-brown; feet usually white. 



cascadensis Nelson, much like bairdi, but darker 

 and more dusky reddish-cinnamon brown, with 

 rump more blackish. 



washtngtoni Baird, a small dark reddish form, with 

 little or no white; it does not turn white in winter. 



klamathensis Merriam, much like washingtoni, but 

 paler. 



(These remarks refer, of course, to summer coat.) 



The first 8 forms may constitute one species. 



The next 2 {bairdi and cascadensis) may be another. 



The last 2 may also become established as a distinct 

 species, remarkable for not turning white in winter. 



'Snowshoe, ' from its equipment, is its very descriptive 

 popular name. Its older name, 'Varying Hare,' records the 

 fact that it varies its colour with the season. The seasons in 

 all its proper country are of two ground colours, brown for six 

 months, white for six; from this the Northern Hare takes its 

 cue. All summer long, from mid-April till mid-October, it 

 is a little brown Rabbit. Then comes the snowy cold, the 

 brown coat is quickly shed, a new white coat appears, the 

 snowshoes grow fuller, and the little brown Hare has become 

 the Snowshoe Hare of the Woods. 



Most naturalists have assumed that the fur of the animal 

 actually changes in colour. This is not the case. Dr. J. A. 

 Allen, after an exhaustive study of the subject, has demon- 

 strated'' that the variation is due not to a change of colour, but 

 to a moult ; the brown coat being succeeded by a new coat of 

 white each autumn; this in turn being shed in spring to be 



'Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. VI, Art. IV, pp. 107-128, May 7, 1894. 



