THE DESERT HARE. 433 



" conies " we conceive that the desert hare with sand 

 coloured fur is intended to be indicated the rabbit in 

 its wild state is a denizen of the temperate lands, and 

 we can find no mention of it in the works of travellers 

 in connection with the Desert Zone but the hare is 

 found in almost all deserts, and is often started from 

 her form by the feet of the passing caravan. * 



It is not, however, to be supposed that this passage 

 from the i O4th Psalm refers to countries in the Desert 

 Zone only, as there is much fertile territory in Palestine, 

 the whole of which is subject to lon^-continued droughts 

 of exceeding severity ; the famines occasioned by them 

 are often referred to in Scripture ; and the country is on 

 these occasions more or less completely reduced to the 

 condition of a desert until the return of the rains. 



The fauna of the Desert Zone is, of course, like the 

 vegetation, restricted to a comparatively small number 

 of species. During the short season of fertility, it is 

 probably visited by many descriptions of game, but it 

 would not be correct on that account to number them 

 among the regular habitants of the desert. The 

 number of species of birds and animals which have 

 been noticed as occasional visitors is, however, very 

 large but as the waters dry up and the vegetation 

 begins to wither, these take their departure in com- 

 mon with the desert nomads and their flocks ; of whom 

 a regular exodus then begins, of which descriptions 

 have been given by Baker and other travellers. 



In addition to the animals we have already men- 

 tioned, the gazelle (Arabice El Ghazal) is the only 



* See Travels in Arabia Deserta, by Chas! M. Doughty, 1882 88, 

 Vol. i., pp. 305 and 326, etc. 



VOL I. 28 



