162 COMMON BRITISH ANIMALS 



to jump upon the bed, over and under, and upon it 

 again and again, and I have become so fond of it 

 and accustomed to it that it does not disturb me at 

 all. It will almost every morning, when its period 

 of nocturnal activity ceases, get under the bed-clothes 

 to enjoy the warmth, and then it will wake me by 

 burrowing furiously ; it tears away at imaginary ex- 

 cavations, and throws out imaginary earth precisely 

 as a rabbit does in its real work, ^ washing its hands 

 with invisible soap in imperceptible water/ In these 

 imaginary burrowings it meets with imaginary roots 

 or other obstructions which it bites through. That 

 in prosaic English means just so many holes in the 

 sheet, but the creature is so lovable that I would 

 much rather have half a hare than a whole sheet. 

 This burrowing seems to me an instinctive harking 

 back to that remote period in this creature^s evolu- 

 tion when it lived in holes as its congeners do." 

 The rabbits of Australia and New Zealand are aban- 

 doning the precaution of living in burrows, since 

 there are in those countries practically no carnivorous 

 animals to contend against. 



Whereas the dog pants to perspire and to cool 

 himself, " the hare," says Mr. Drane " pants with 

 enjoyment and apparently to warm himself, for his 

 temperature which is normally 98° F. rapidly rises 

 to 106° F." 



The external form of the hare is eminently adapted 

 to speed, and in this respect can be compared with 

 the form of the cat. Although the collar bone is not 

 entirely absent, as is the case with the cat, the harems 

 collar bone is small and rudimentary and the body is 



