98 THE MOUNTAIN OR BLUE HARE 



and fouled by themselves or their near relatives, the rabbits, which 

 so foul natural pastures where they abound that neither cattle nor 

 sheep will touch the herbage, or hares remain on land fouled 

 by these rodents. By nibbling and eating off the tender growths, 

 the clovers, trefoil, lucerne and sainfoin are much injured, being 

 deprived of their growing extremities ; and thus stunted and dwarfed, 

 the crop is seriously deteriorated in bulk and in value, tracks being 

 made through the crop ; these and patches being depastured in bad 

 cases. The rotation grasses suffer less than the clovers, etc., 

 rye-grass making most headway and persisting longest against 

 attacks by hares. 



In hop-gardens hares bite off the tender bines of the hop plants, 

 and even when the bine has ascended and is high up the pole they 

 sever it, whilst relatively tender, at such distance from the ground 

 as they can reach, and thus cause it to wither and die, stunting 

 the plant and spoiling the prospective crop in proportion to the 

 extent of the bine destruction. Market-garden crops also surfer 

 from the onslaughts of hares, as nearly all the vegetables raised in 

 fields, allotments and gardens are eaten, it being difficult to discover 

 a crop they will not nibble and render uneven and unremunerative. 



In fruit plantations and orchards, hares commit very extensive 

 damage to young fruit-trees, barking the branches of dwarfs as well 

 as the stems of these and standards, the apple trees suffering most, 

 cherry and plum trees in a lesser degree, and pear trees, as a rule, 

 are still less liable to damage. In very severe weather and snow 

 covering the ground, hares will make incursions into villages and 

 do considerable harm to young fruit-trees in cottage gardens, 

 stripping off the bark, and, if all round the stem, killing the trees, 

 sometimes when of size coming into remunerative bearing. Nursery- 

 men, fruit-growers, and all interested in fruit production, from the 

 Crown down to the humblest occupier, know to their cost that hares 

 inflict great damage on young apple and pear, damson and plum 

 trees, and that unless protected where hares abound fruit-growing is 

 precluded. Similar remarks apply to pleasure grounds, flower 

 gardens, and vegetable grounds, all being made safe against the 

 attacks of hares, if expected to afford a fair profit. 



The MOUNTAIN or BLUE HARE (Lepus variabilis), Fig. 63, is 

 distinguished from the common hare by its shorter ears, notched 

 upper grinder, smaller size, less speed, changing its colour to 

 white in winter, and having only two broods in the year. It is 

 confined to mountainous regions, such as the Highlands of Scotland. 

 In comparatively unwooded tracts the blue hares flock from all 

 the neighbouring hilly districts to young plantations of larch, pine, 

 and spruce, and cut off all growth within reach above the snow-line, 

 not sparing the leaders of young trees or even stems, those of three 

 or more years age being girdled, and the plantation ruined as re- 

 gards producing timber. Indeed, it is impossible to rear planta- 



