56 THE NATURALIST IN NOEWAY. 



whilst the hare has a stomach of two, macerating the 

 food in one, and digesting it in the other. 



Pontoppidan mentions a singular taste, if true, of the 

 hare in Norway. "In Norway," he says, "rabbits are 

 only found in a few places, but hares are found in great 

 numbers. Their skins, brown and gray in summer, 

 become white in winter. They kill and eat mice like 

 cats. They are also smaller than those of Denmark." 



The rabbit in a wild state is now almost unknown in 

 Norway. I never saw one myself in the country, nor 

 have I ever met with a Norwegian who had. 



The hare is commonly captured in Norway by wire 

 snares. The peasants bring cartloads of them to market 

 during the season. It is preserved by law from June 

 1st to August 15th. 



The Norwegian peasants consider the blood of the 

 hare to be an excellent cosmetic for removing scorbutic 

 eruptions from the skin, as well as freckles from the 

 face. It is also said that linen rags steeped in hare's 

 blood and then dried are a cure for erysipelas, although 

 they must not be applied to the affected part, but 

 simply near to it. 



THE BADGER. 



The badger (Meles vulgaris) is common in the 

 southern and central parts of Norway ; it does not visit 

 the far north. It frequents the dense woods and forests 

 with which this country abounds, and remains almost 

 entirely in its hole during the severe Norwegian winter, 

 only going out when pressed by hunger. It is popu- 

 larly believed in Norway that during its hibernation it 

 lives like the bear by sucking its paws. In Scotland 

 and the north of England the badger still retains its 



