376 



THE RODENTS OR GNAU1XG ANIMALS. 



Change of the "When the Alps are buried in snow 

 Fur of the Ai pine j n December this Hare is as purely 

 Hare. white as the snow itself, only the 



tips of the ears remaining black. The spring sun- 

 shine induces a very remarkable change of color, 

 this change beginning in March. The animal first 

 becomes dark on the back, and gray hairs appear 

 more and more numerously amid the white of the 

 flanks. In April it has a queer, pie-bald appearance. 

 The dark brown hue gains more ground every day, 

 and finally in May the change is complete, the color 

 being uniform and not mottled like that of the Com- 



coat is daik brown, but :n winter it 15 ml 

 asily frightened, and always active. [Lc 



THE ALPINE HARE. Thi' 



regions of the Alps. In the summer tl 

 These are very pretty creatures, agile, 



mon Hare, the fur of which is of a coarser texture 

 than that of the Alpine Hare. In autumn the first 

 white hairs appear with the first snow; but as winter 

 reaches its climax in less time than does spring in 

 the Alps, the change is wrought more rapidly, and 

 is completed sometime during the period extending 

 from the beginning of October to the middle of 

 November. When the Chamois becomes black, 

 its neighbor, the Hare, turns white. The Alpine 

 Hare is commonly found in all the higher Alpine 

 regions, where it is at least as numerous as is the 

 brown Hare in the lower belt. Its favorite country 

 lies between the point at which the fir-trees cease to 

 grow and the line of perpetual snow, at about the 

 same altitude as is favored by the Snow- Hen or 

 Ptarmigan and the Marmot, from 4,800 to 7,800 feet 

 above the sea; it may sometimes range much higher, 

 however. 

 The Propagation "The female gives birth to from two 

 of Alpine to five young, which are no larger 

 Hares. than Mice and have a white spot on 



the forehead. The first litter usually appears in 

 April or May, the second in July or August; there 

 are doubts as to whether there is a third. It is 

 nearly impossible to observe their family life, as the 

 power of scent of these animals is so delicate and 

 the young know so well how to hide in all crevices 



and crannies that the spectator can not long remain 

 concealed from the alert animals, or have an oppor- 

 tunity to observe for any length of time their domes- 

 tic routine. 

 The Alpine Hare "A surprising fact is that the Alpine 

 Easily Domes- Hare is more tamable than the Com- 

 ticated. mon Hare; it behaves more quietly 



and shows greater confidence, but seldom endures 

 long and fails to get fat even with the most abun- 

 dant nourishment. It misses in the valley below the 

 rarefied air of the upper Alps. It turns white in 

 winter in confinement also. Its fur is not valuable, 

 but its flesh is very 

 toothsome." 



The Rabbit (Lepus cuni- 

 ctilns) differs from the 

 Hares proper in its much 

 smaller physical propor- 

 tions — a more slender 

 frame, shorter head, 

 shorter ears and shorter 

 hind legs. The length 

 of the body of the ani- 

 mal is sixteen inches, 

 nearly three inches of 

 which are occupied by 

 the tail. The ear is 

 shorter than the head 

 and if pressed forward 

 and downward along the 

 cheek it does not reach 

 to the point of the muz- 

 zle. The tail is black 

 above, white beneath, 

 and the remainder of 

 the body is covered by 

 a gray fur, dashed with 

 yellow-brown above, 

 reddish yellow in front, 

 light rusty on the flanks 

 and thighs and merging 



appropriate inhabitant of the snowy into white Oil the under 

 ept the margins of the ears, surface, the throat and 



the inner sides of the 

 limbs. The upper part of the throat is of a rusty 

 yellow grayish hue, the nape of the neck is palpably 

 of a rusty red color. Variations in coloration seem 

 to occur more rarely than with the Common Hare. 



Original Nearly all naturalists suppose the 

 Home of the original home of the Rabbit to be 



Rabbit. southern Europe and that it was 



introduced by transplantation into all portions of 

 Europe north of the Alps. Pliny mentions it under 

 the name of Cuniculus, Aristotle calls it Dasypus. 

 All old authors name Spain as its native country. 



Present At present the wild Rabbit is dis- 

 Rangeofthe tributed throughout southern and 



habbit. central Europe and is quite plentiful 



in some places. The countries of the Mediterranean 

 are infested by the species in enormous numbers, 

 though it is pursued there all the year round and 

 spared in none of the seasons. In England it was 

 introduced into several localities for sporting pur- 

 poses and was held in high esteem at first, as late as 

 1309 a wild Rabbit cost as much as a little Pig. In 

 northern countries it does not thrive. Attempts to 

 introduce it into Russia and Sweden have been futile 

 Requisites for The Rabbit requires for its domicile 

 the Rabbit's a hilly and sandy country, broken 



Domicile. by ravines, rocks and shrubbery, in 

 short, offering sheltered spots where it can hide it- 



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