RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Rodentia of Rhode Island. 



All animals belonging to the order Ro- 

 dentia are distinguished by having between 

 the front cutting teeth and the flat grinding 

 Back teeth, on each side of both upper and 

 lower jaw, a long toothless space. Young 

 hares have six upper front teeth, but soon 

 shed two of them, and two of those that re- 

 main are small and supplementary^ and 

 placed not on each side, but directl}' be- i 

 hind the true and prominent front teeth. ! 

 So that all rodents, when viewed in front, 

 seem to have only two upper front teeth, 

 and none have more than two in the lower 

 jaw. These iruljt teelli (culled inci&orss) 

 are long, slightly curved toward the mouth, j 

 and are extremely hard on the outer face, i 

 while the opposite side is soft. The tips of 

 these upper and lower teeth meet when the 

 mouth is shut, and their action upon each 

 other serves to keep them all sharp, and : 

 worn away behind. They grow out rapidly 

 from the jaw, and if they do not have con- 

 tinual rasping, or one is broken away, the 

 owner suffers in consequence, by an unnat- 

 ural length, the .opposite tooth frequently 

 growing around to complete a circle, and en- 

 tering the jaw again, interferes with feed- 

 ing and finally kills its owner. For this 

 reason the cracking of nuts for pet squirrels 

 is not a kindness, and 1 think also that the 

 little animals, with seemingly no knowledge 

 of the consequences, or because they can- 

 not conquer their appetites for the softer 

 dainties offered them in captivity, neglect 

 the harder shelled nuts, to their own great 

 disadvantage. The back or grinding teeth 

 vary in the different families, often twelve, 

 but with sixteen to eighteen among the 

 squirrels, and twenty-six to twenty-eight 

 among the hares. 



The question, " What is the difference 

 between a rabbit and a hare?" has been 

 frequently answered, but still is not gen- 

 erally understood, and the two names are 

 applied interchangeably and indiscrimin- 

 atel}' to the same animals. We have in 

 America no true rabbits, that name belongs 

 to the European species, L. caniculus, which 

 is a persistent burrower, very prolific, and 

 shorter and stouter in form, with compara- 

 tively short ears and hind legs. This ani- 

 mal has been naturalized all over the world, 

 and all the various kinds of pet rabbits are 

 derived from it. 



The largest representative in Rhode Isl- 

 and of this order is the American or Var}'- 

 ing hare, Lepus A'merkarms var. Virgin- 

 ianus. This species has a habit of keeping 

 very close to cover, and its resort is thick 

 swamps, among cedars and tangled briers, 

 where it makes a nest or form, of grass, in 

 which it sits. It is not very plentiful 

 with us, and we have never met with it, but 

 it occurs in the swamp in South Kingstown, 

 and several energetic hunters in the north- 

 ern part of the state report it. The crea- 

 ture averages about twent}' inches in length, 

 and the summer pellage is generally a cin- 

 namon brown mixed with black, chin, throat, 

 and under parts white, breast and front of 

 neck yellow-brown,' the brown hairs have 

 broad tips of black, the short tail sooty 

 brown above, and gray white below. In 

 winter it changes with some variations, to 

 nearly pure white, retaining generally a 

 narrow band of black on the tips of the 

 ears. 



The Wood Rabbit,Gray Rabbit or Molly 

 Cotton tail, Lejms si/lvaticus Bach., is well 

 distributed through the state, and is plenti- 

 ful in some sections. The length is about 

 sixteen inches, the color of the pellage, 

 which varies but slightly, if at all, with the 

 changing seasons, is yellowish or reddish 

 brown on the back, with black lines, the 

 sides of the body light gray and brown, 

 throat gray, under parts white, the short 

 elevated tail same color on top as the 

 back, and pure white below. With this 

 exception, all the fur, which is soft and 

 dense, is lead-colored at the base. This 

 species, with varieties, is distributed all over 

 the United States, and makes usuall}- a 

 form in the grass, but is said to make use 

 of a hollow stump or stone wall, and fre- 

 quently appropriates the burrow of some 

 other animal, or, perhaps, digs one. In this 

 respect, and in its compact shape, it ap- 

 proaches nearly to the true European rab- 

 bit. The hares are liable to the attacks of 

 many enemies ; ticks and tape-worms are 

 their parasites, while all carnivorous ani- 

 mals, and man with gun and trap, pursue 

 them relentlessly. Possessed of no means 

 of defence, thej^ would be liable to exter- 

 mination, were it not for their great fecund- 

 ity, their swiftness of foot, and that their 

 ears and eyes are always on the alert. 

 Their food is strictly vegetable. 



