158 COMMON IJRITISH ANIMALS 



Strong thinks the word was only applied to the 

 young of the coney. Mr. Millais says, " the word 

 ^ cuniculnt;/ adopted by the Romans, may be derived 

 from ^ cuneus/ a wedge, as being applicable to an 

 animal which could drive holes in the ground with 

 ease.^^ 



Varro and Pliny thought the animal derived its 

 name from the military mines {cuniculi) by means 

 of which towns were attacked, but more probably it 

 was the other way on, since Martial and other 

 authorities considered that these rodents first taught 

 men how to undermine towns. 



The fur of the rabbit is more extensively used in 

 the fur trade than any other skin, except those of 

 the musk rat and squirrel. As many as 30,000,000 

 skins are collected in England, while French and 

 Belgian skins number 2,000,000. 



The Hare. 



The hare is tawny grey, tinged with red on the 

 upper parts and white beneath. The tail, which is 

 three and a half inches long, is black above and 

 white beneath. The long ears are tipped with black 

 and the vibrissa are yellowish white. The length of 

 the head and body is from twenty-one to twenty- 

 three inches, while those of the rabbit measure 

 about sixteen inches. The colour of the fur is 

 always changing, and there is a distinct moult 

 between July and September. Leverets, or young 

 hares, are always redder than the adults. The hairs 

 as they first grow out of the skin, says Mr. Drane, 



