NATURAL HISTORY. 



&quot; You are the hare nf whom the proverb goes, 

 Whose valour plucks dead ii&amp;lt;r.is by the beard.&quot; SHAKSPEARE. 



&quot; The prowling fox, 

 Whose nightly murders thiii the bleating fold.&quot; DODSLEV. 



392. Why are, the ears of hare* unusually long, and capable 

 of more varied motion than those of most other animals? 



Tliis fact illustrates a prin 

 ciple in the great design 

 observable in nature, referring 

 to many animals, but to the 

 hare in particular. 



The external ears of animals 

 of flight are turned backwards 

 to give notice of the approach 

 of an enemy from behind, 

 whence he may steal upon 

 them unseen ; while the ears 

 of beasts of prey, such as 

 lions, tigers, wolves, foxes, 

 &c., have their trumpet part 

 standing forwards, to seize 

 the sounds whioh are before 

 them ; viz~, the sounds of the 

 animals which they pursue. 



The ears of the hare are long, and stand erect when the animal 

 is listening. Upon other occasions, when concealment is necessary, 

 they lie down close upon the animal s back. When being hunted, 

 and well a-head of the hounds, the hare will frequently throw one 

 ear forward and the other backward, that it may discriminate 

 not only whence to fly but whither to go. 



393. The anatomy of the internal ear also favours its reception of sounds from 

 very dii action. The auditive canal is in part soft, and in part bony, so tnat the 

 tube may be turned iu the direction of the outer ear. In general the ears are 

 naked, or very thinly covered with short hairs nd the membranes of which they 

 tre composed are so thin that they are nearly transparent. 



In order to enable this creature to perceive the most distant approaches of danger, 

 nature has provided it with these very long ears, which, like tubes applied to the 

 auditory organs of deaf persons, convey to it such sounds as are remote ; and the 

 motions of the hare are directed accordingly. Its large prominent eyes being placed 

 o far backward as to receive tite rays of light oa every side, it can almost see 



