NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



of the eye is exceedingly sensitive and responds 

 powerfully to the waves of light, and is thus 

 enabled to register images clearly, which to the eyes 

 of other creatures would be but dim and shadowy. 



The young of the Springhare are born during the 

 summer season, and the number at a birth averages 

 three to four, according to Lydekker and Sclater. 



However, Mr. John J. Cable, P.O. Erasmus, via 

 Pretoria, Transvaal, writes me as follows : " In 

 Western Transvaal about 500 Springhares were 

 drowned or killed with sticks, after a cloud burst in a 

 large pass which had evidently been dry for years. 

 This was in 1907. We salted down the bodies, and 

 in no single instance did we find a female carrying 

 more than one embryo or foetus. I was so struck by 

 the circumstance that I questioned the natives who 

 were also busy cutting up the Springhares. They 

 all declared that the female carried only one young 

 at a time." 



Mr. Cable is a well-informed naturalist and an 

 accurate observer. 



The Springhare is an unqualified pest to man in 

 South Africa for the reason that it is a greedy feeder, 

 and its diet consists of vegetable substances. In 

 consequence it is exceedingly destructive to crops 

 in all stages of growth. 



Looking over a farm with the owner one day, I 

 inquired why the mealies were growing in isolated 

 patches. He explained that from the moment the 

 young plants emerged from the ground, the Spring- 



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