THE COMMON HARE 97 



within their reach, always showing preference for the papilionaceous 

 gorse (Ulexeuropczus), particularly in ornamental coverts the double 

 gorse (Ulex europceus, flore plena) and common broom (Cytisus 

 scoparius), these and heather (Calluna vulgaris) being browsed 

 down to the snow-line. Probably the presence of gorse, tufts of 

 coarse grasses, with brakes here and there of bracken (Pteris aquilina] 

 and bramble (Rubus fruticosus) affording shelter and dry " forms," 

 with a look-out on considerable breadths and lengths of velvety 

 lawn producing tender blades of grass and rich leguminous herbage, 

 culminating on wide tracts of heather, accounts for the gathering 

 of hares to moorsides in the autumn, whence they make nightly 

 incursions to the moor-edge farms for feeding on the outstanding 

 crops. 



On agricultural crops hares make persistent onslaughts. Wheat 

 and rye, oats and barley suffer from the time of the appearance of 

 the young and tender blade above ground to that of harvest. They 

 nip off the young shoots of cereals, inducing a stunted, much- 

 branched habit, bearing feeble " ears " and almost worthless grain, 

 whilst thus made to arrive later at maturity and militating against 

 the general harvest both in respect of time and value of crop. When 

 the cereals are advanced in growth, hares bite off the culms at the 

 joints for obtaining the sugary matter found there, and in this way 

 often make path-like openings in standing corn of 2 ft. or more 

 breadth, while there and abutting on the covert a considerable 

 extent of the ground occupied (or should be) by the corn is made 

 to have the appearance of stubble. Hares roam afar through 

 fields and cut and clear away more or less large open spaces in corn 

 crops, weakening and stunting the plants, thus insuring free access 

 and a succession of tender growths for browsing, a matter of conse- 

 quence to them in dry seasons, when their destructiveness is most 

 pronounced and ruinous to farmers. 



Carrots and mangolds are much relished by hares when the plant 

 is young, and right away to maturity " tit-bits " are nibbled off the 

 plants, the portions of the fleshy roots above ground being bitten 

 and eaten ; and as attention is given to numerous plants, the havoc, 

 aided by rain and frost, involves a corresponding proportion of the 

 crop, sometimes from damage in the field and non-keeping in store, 

 resulting in half, or even the whole, spoiling. Turnips and swedes 

 suffer in the bulbs from hares nibbling small pieces from numerous 

 "roots," resulting in great decay and corresponding loss. 

 Winter carrots, and above all winter tares, with the ever attractive 

 parsley, have little chance of succeeding where hares abound, 

 it being almost hopeless trying to raise a crop. 



To forage crops hares are particularly destructive, preferring 

 the artificial grasses clovers and trefoil, with lucerne and sainfoin 

 to the native grasses and leguminous herbage, probably because 

 more succulent and nutritious, and also through being less stained 



B.N. H 



