1886-87.] The Hare. 65 



many of its habits and peculiarities. I shall therefore, in the 

 first place, direct attention to a few particulars on these points ; 

 and as I do not profess to lay claim to infallibility, nor have 

 any desire to indulge in dogmatism, I shall be glad to hear the 

 criticisms of any whose opinions may not coincide with my 

 own. 



There are several questions of interest to the naturalist af- 

 fecting the hare, which I shall here put in consecutive order : — 



First, Do hares necessarily pair during the breeding season ? 



Second, How long is their period of gestation ? 



lliird, How many do they produce at a litter 1 



Fourth, How often do they breed in a year ? 



Fifth, Do young hares born in March breed the same year? 



As regards the first question, I am of opinion that by natural 

 law hares pair, and I shall very briefly give my reasons for 

 making this statement. In districts where hares are limited in 

 numbers, they are, as a rule, in the month of February to be 

 found in pairs lying in proximity to each other on ploughed 

 fields or on rough sheltered grounds. I do not mean to assert 

 that this is their invariable habit, but in places where they are 

 undisturbed, when one is started in the conditions indicated, 

 another at no great distance may be expected. That they pair 

 must therefore appear manifest, but whether they keep faithful 

 to conjugal laws is a controverted question. Eabbits, as is 

 well known, pair, being found in holes together in the early 

 spring ; and I have seen a male rendering assistance in carrying 

 into the hole the material for making the nest in which the 

 female deposits her young. At the same time, I have proved, 

 in a locality where I knew only one pair of wild rabbits existed, 

 that by turning out at night a black and white female tame 

 rabbit she very soon produced a litter which generally took 

 after the wild progenitor in colour. All such cases, however, 

 are exceptions to the general rule, though confined to no single 

 class of animals. 



Secondly, regarding the period of gestation in the hare, in 

 my opinion it is one month, or more probably nearer five weeks. 

 I have no correct data to guide me, but have often dissected 

 hares in the spring and found them rarely with young till the 

 end of January. As I have noticed young hares in the end of 

 February, and as they are quite common in March, it will thus 



VOL. II. E 



