HARES AND RABBITS. 24! 



Among the former is the Capybara, the largest of the rodents, 

 an animal which attains to from three to four feet in length. 

 It belongs to Brazil, Guinea, and Paraguay. The Canadian 

 porcupine, and the Brazilian porcupine, are tree porcupines 

 and are only found in America. 

 The Guinea The Guinea Pig (Cavia Cobaya) is said to be 



Pi . the domestic form of the Cavia Aperea of Brazil 

 and Peru. It derives its name from its supposed place of 

 origin, as it was said to have been first introduced into England 

 from Guinea, It is tailless, but clean and neat in ap- 

 pearance, being marked with black, white, and orange colours. 

 It is said to lack intelligence and to be destitute of attach- 

 ment, suffering its young to be destroyed without resistance. 

 Perhaps this is due to the fact that it has so many ; it breeds 

 at intervals of two months and produces from three to twelve 

 young ones at a birth. 



Hares and We come now to the second sub-order of the 

 Rabbits. Rodents or animals that gnaw, the Duplicidentati, 

 the rodents having four incisor teeth in the upper jaw. This 

 brings us to the Hares and Rabbits, of which there are nu- 

 merous species, the Common Hare, the Irish or Mountain 

 Hare and the Common Rabbit being the best known. The 

 Irish or Mountain Hare is somewhat larger than the common 

 hare and changes from brown to white in the winter. The 

 Sardinian, the Egyptian, the Polar, and the Sage hares are 

 other varieties. 



The The Common Hare is a familiar animal and 



Common needs no description. It is found throughout 



e ' Europe and is well known in England. The 



hare hides during the day under cover of low foliage, ferns, 



and the undergrowth of preserves, in spots known as ' forms '. 



Its habit of making a definite track from its form to its feeding 



grounds and of always following its own track makes it an 



easy sacrifice to those who know its ways. It is exceedingly 



swift in its movements, and it is well that it is so, for its 



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