26 THE RABBIT 



boldness of a rabbit, which, on being disturbed from 

 a snug ' seat ' in a tuft of grass, made straight for a 

 wide creek, and entering the water, struck out boldly 

 for the opposite side, carrying the head well elevated, 

 and progressing at a good pace. 



Mr. G. H. Warrender, of Springfields, Wolver- 

 hampton, reported that one day in September, 1890, 

 he was walking along a canal side, when he saw a 

 young rabbit, apparently about a month old, on the 

 towing-path. He chased it a few yards, when he was 

 astonished to see it leap into the canal and swim 

 like a water-rat to the far side. This occurred in the 

 morning. He had occasion to pass the same spot 

 in the evening, when he saw something plunge into 

 the water on the towing-path side, which he thought 

 at first sight was a water-rat, but on closer observa- 

 tion, it proved to be a young rabbit — the same, 

 probably, which he had seen leap into the canal in 

 the morning. He pulled it out of the water and 

 put it on dry land, when it ran off into a small 

 covert, apparently little the worse for its aquatic 

 adventure. 



The appearance presented by a rabbit when 

 swimming, as compared with a squirrel and stoat, is 

 well shown in a sketch by Mr. J. G. Millais, at page 

 44 of his work on 'British Deer' (1897). For the 



