Il8 MAMMALS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY. 



The hair is wiry, sparse and extends in places 3 or 4 inches beyond the quill 

 tips. The length of a full grown one is sometimes 3 feet, i foot of which is 

 tail. The tail is a flattened, elongate, blunt triangle ; the whole build of the 

 animal resembling that of an awkward, hunchbacked, hypochodriac beaver. 

 Their maximum weight when fat is very great, reaching upward of 35 or 40 

 pounds. 



Family Leporid^e ; Hares, Rabbits. 



Genus Lepus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, 1758, vol. i, p. 57. 



Alleghenian Varying Hare ; White Rabbit. Lepus americanus 

 virgininianus ( Harlan ) . 



1825. Lepus virginianus Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 196. 



1877. \_Lepus a?nericanus'] virginianus Allen, Monograph N. American 

 Rodentia, p. 307. 



Type locality. — Blue Mountains, northeast of Harrisburg, Pa. 



Faunal distribution. — Canadian and upper transition zones, New Bruns- 

 wick to Minnesota, south in AUeghanies to North Carolina. 



Distribution in Pa. and N.J. — Once an abundant dweller of the wooded 

 parts of the Canadian and transition zones of both states. Now almost ex- 

 terminated in N. J. and found only in numerous isolated and restricted situ- 

 ations in the Allegheny and Blue ridge mountain systems, this decimated 

 condition being due to deforesting and burning rather than to direct destruc- 

 tion by man or wild animals. 



Records in Pa. — Bearing in mind the abundance of this species only 30 

 years ago, the following reports from its former haunts will give some idea of 

 present conditions : 



Blair Co. — A specimen recently taken in this Co. is in Museum of Acad. 

 Nat. Sci., Phila. They were reported to Ingersoll as living, in 1896, 10 or 12 

 miles from Tyrone. — Rhoads. 



Cambria Co. — " Old hunters of southern Cambria Co. formerly knew of 

 them, but they had been killed off several years ago." — Ingersoll, 1896. "A 

 few remain, especially around Shade Creek. They were formerly distributed 

 all over this county." — Shields, 1901. 



Cameron Co. — " Numerous, but decreasing as the woods are cut off." — 

 Larrabee, 1896. 



Centre Co. — Found along the mountain tops — Fernald, 1900. 



Clearfield Co. — Two specimens were sent to Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., from 

 Bell's Landing (in 1890?). — Rhoads. 



Clinton Co. — I saw one in July, 1895, "^^'' Round Island. — Nelson. "Some 



