NATURAL HISTORY. 125 



Well one at least is safe. Our shelter'd hare 



Has never heard the sanguinary yell 



Of cruel man exulting in her woes." COWPER. 



384. Why do hares when pursued generally make for rising 

 ground ? 



Because the length of their hind legs, as compared with their 

 front ones, gives them a great advantage in ascending an inclined 

 surface. 



385. Why do hares run down hill in a zig-zag course ? 

 Because the length of their hind legs, which gives them an 



advantage over their pursuers in ascending a hill, is a disadvantage 

 to them when descending. They therefore modify the line of 

 descent by making a series of diagonal runs. 



386. Ilares are remarkable for their extreme timidity ; but their inability to 

 save themselves from the attacks of their enemies has been in some degree compen- 

 sated by their endowments for speed. When they run, their motions consist of a 

 series of leaps more or less extended according to the speed with which they move. 

 Indeed the animals of this genus make a near approach in their general form, their 

 gait when walking, and their mode of life to the kanguroos. The length and 

 strength of their hir.J legs very much exceeds that of their front ; they are further 

 assisted by the extreme flexibility of their spines, which enables them to bring the 

 hind feet'even before the front, and thereby throw the body forward with a much 

 stronger and greater spring. To give an idea of the prodigious leaps they make, 

 it may be here mentioned that a hare has been known to pass over a spade of 

 twenty-five feet at a single bound. This structure, though well adapted for moving 

 on a level surface, and much more for going up a hill, is disadvantageous for descent ; 

 and, consequently, if a hare descend a steep place at speed, she may be noticed 

 rolling over and over frequently before she reaches the bottom.* 



387. Why is the hare unable to run well upon fallows and 

 ivet soils ? 



Because hares are unprovided with the smooth elastic padding 

 which covers the soles of the feet of dogs and other quadrupeds, 

 they are hairy-footed, which renders them ill-adapted for speed 

 upon wet and adhesive soils. When left to choose their own 

 track, they always select a dry one for treading on ; and it is plain 

 that their hairy socks admirably adapt their feet to resist the ill 

 effects of pressure from the rough surfaces they must pass over by 

 this preference. 



Encyclopaedia Metropolitana." 



