72 A PHILOSOPHER WITH NATURE 



would then come on the table while writing was 

 going on and stretch itself out at full length, or 

 sit and watch'with four legs tucked underneath like 

 a cat. 



It is a moot question whether the hare is a rabbit 

 which has taken to the open or the rabbit is a degener- 

 ate hare which has obtained comparative safety by 

 taking to a stupid life in the earth. It is an inter- 

 esting fact in this connection, and one not often 

 remarked on by observers, that a hare, if it finds an 

 obstacle it wishes to get rid of, will naturally scratch 

 with its front legs with considerable strength and 

 with exactly the same movement as a rabbit. Thus, 

 although the hare lives in the open grass country, 

 never takes to earth, and much dislikes ground infested 

 by rabbits, it has to all appearance latent in its 

 muscles the beginnings of an instinct which might 

 be developed into the rabbit's capacity for burrowing. 



