162 LEPORID^E 



frost, and on hard ground the hoofs of horses soon wear away if 

 not shod, and their legs suffer from the jars of constant work ; 

 similarly, cattle become very footsore if driven far on roads. 

 Under the same conditions the constantly renewable hairy 

 covering of the leporine foot does not wear away with much 

 usage, and it is superior to both pad and hoof as a lessener of 

 shock to the leg as a whole, and as securing a grip on slippery 

 or rocky ground. But on moderately soft, wet, or sticky ground 

 the feet of carnivores and ungulates are superior, especially 

 those with more than one toe, which can be spread out so as 

 to prevent sinking in mud ; while those of leporines may 

 become clogged. The leporine foot may thus have had its 

 origin in an animal frequenting rocks, hard plains, or snow. 



The fur consists of three kinds of hairs — viz., (i) a short, 

 thick, soft wool or underfur, which is mainly concealed by (2) 

 an abundant set of strong hairs, generally annulated, which 

 push through the underfur and overlie it. These are largely 

 responsible for the external colouring of the animal, but their 

 influence is modified by (3) a third set of hairs, also for the 

 most part annulated, which are sparsely scattered over the 

 body, and longer than either of the other kinds. These are 

 present in their fullest abundance only in the adult, and their 

 tips wear away when the coat becomes old. The fur as a 

 whole is most abundant on the back, and least so, althoueh 

 longest, on the abdomen. Its denseness varies with the season 

 and weather, being thickest in winter and thinnest in summer. 



At the back of the neck and over the area covered by the 

 ears the underfur alone is present in British species, and, having 

 usually a distinctive coloration, forms a patch, which, if the 

 ears be raised, shows up very conspicuously. 



Nelson finds three age-pelages in American forms: — (1) a 

 soft woolly juvenal pelage, which is comparable to the downy 

 plumage of young birds, and which gives way when the animal 

 is less than half-grown to (2) the post-juvenal pelage. In the 

 latter, which is usually carried until the animal is nearly adult, 

 the middle coat of hair is much more developed than in the 

 juvenal pelage, but it is finer than in adults, and the long outer 

 hairs are mostly lacking. These three pelages are undoubtedly 

 present in the Scottish and Irish Hares, but their existence in 



