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LEPUS AMERICANUS, (Erxleben). 

 THE NORTHERN HARE, WHITE RABBIT. 



Specific Character. — Larger than the common gray rabbit. Ears about the 

 length of the head. Hind foot much longer. Tail short. Colour, in summer, 

 very similar to that of tlio European hare ; rich reddish or cinnamon brown above ; 

 tail sooty brown above, dull grayish beneath ; body beneath white ; ears black at 

 the tip of the dorsal surface, this extending down the margins ; the fringe and 

 posterior edge white. In winter, white, though usually showing a good deal of 

 yellowish brown beneath the tip of the long hairs; the under fur plumbeous from 

 the roots of the basal half, then brownish red. 



Ears white, except the external band. 



Habitat. — New England and middle States northward throughout Ontario. 



Average Size. — Equal to that of a cat. 



Average Weigltt. — 4 pounds. 



Average Height. — 8 inches. 



Average Length. — IS inches; nose to tail, 16 inches; tail, 2 inches. 



Value of i^ttr.— Valueless. 



The rabbit proper is unknown in Canada, but hares are plentiful, the latter 

 being ignorantly called rabbits by those who do not know the difference. 



The hare never burrows like the rabbit, and its nest for the most part is on 

 the ground or beneath some brush heap or other convenient cover. 



The hare is distinctive in character having a double set of upper teeth. It 

 has five toes before, and four behind. 



The ears arc very long, the tail very .short ; the hind feet much longer than 

 the fore-feet, and the shoulder blades are always imperfect. 



The fur is brown in summer, but changes to white at the approach of winter 



The hare breeds twice during the season, the female producing her young in 

 June and August, the litter avera'Tino; from five to eitjht at a birth. 



The fur is valueless in the Canadian fur market, as skins can be bought 

 cheaper in Europe than they can be had here. 



