706 



II ARE. 



or thirty-one days, and a vigorous female w ill produce < which they are very subject to. A free circulation 



about eight young rabbits seven times in the course of 

 a year ; so that in the course of four years her progeny 

 in theory would amount to one million, two hundred 

 and seventy-four thousand, eight hundred and forty 

 individuals. But we cannot average, in the first in- 

 stance, the amount of fertility at the maximum ; and, 

 secondly, as we observed in the history of the hare, 

 the race is obnoxious to the attacks of men, and of 

 various predaceous animals. If the dam does not 

 find a hole suited to her purpose previously to her 

 bringing forth, she digs one, not in a straight line, 

 but in a zig-zag direction, enlarging the bottom of it 

 every way, and pulling from her own body a quantity 

 of hair, with which she makes a warm and comfort- 

 able bed for her young. The female during the two 

 first days seldom if ever quits her young unless when 

 pressed by hunger, at which time she eats with sur- 

 prising quickness and returns immediately. When 

 she ventures abroad she covers up the hole very care- 

 fully, scarcely leaving any perceptible mark of it, 

 and conceals her charge from the male lest he should 

 devour them. She continues these attentions for 

 about a mouth, when the young are able to provide 

 for themselves. She seeks to avoid all damp places, 

 and prefers a light sandy dry soil to any other. The 

 ordinary term of a rabbit's existence is from seven to 

 ten years. On a dead level it finds it difficult to 

 make its burrow, as, in such a situation, the mould 

 must be thrown upward to the surface ; whereas, on 

 the side of an eminence, the declivity affords a ready 

 fall for the earth. As the rabbits on the island of 

 Sor, near Senegal, do not burrow, we are tempted to 

 suspect that the digging of holes for themselves in 

 colder climates is an acquired art, prompted by cir- 

 cumstances. This conjecture will appear still more 

 probable when we reflect that domestic rabbits never 

 give themselves the trouble of digging, and that when 

 a warren is attempted to be stocked with a domestic 

 breed, they and their offspring remain on the surface, 

 and never begin to make holes for their protection 

 until they have endured many hardships and passed 

 through many generations. 



It has been observed by Dr. Darwin, that as rab- 

 bits cannot articulate sounds, and are formed into so- 

 cieties living under ground, their method of giving an 

 alarm is very peculiar ; for, when any danger threat- 

 ens, they thump on the earth with one of their hinder 

 feet, and produce a sound which can be heard by 

 animals near the surface at a considerable distance. 

 The females are the most vigilant sentinels, and re- 

 main without till all their companions have entered 

 their holes. These animals are very sensible to any 

 approaching changes of the weather, though habitually 

 concealed under a thick covering of earth, and will 

 seldom go abroad in the day-time unless it be settled 

 and calm ; while their presentiment of a storm in the 

 night-time impels them to rush out and quickly de- 

 vour their stated fare, that they may be safely housed 

 again before they are overtaken by the blast. It is 

 customary, in stocking a warren, to make artificial 

 burrows, of the diameter of the animal's body, with 



of air, and cleanliness, are the best preventives of a 

 pining sickness, accompanied with an infectious itch, 

 to which the young are otherwise liable. A dry regi- 

 men will, in general, remove the pustules which some- 

 times cover their liver ; and fresh air and Jitter are 

 recommended for a disease in the eyes, which is apt 

 to carry off the females after having suckled their 

 young. As already mentioned, the fur of rabbits is 

 used in the manufacture of hats, for which purpose 

 the grey is usually taken. The lighter-coloured is 

 dressed as fur, and dyed of various colours, in imita- 

 tion of more valuable skins ; the wool also is some- 

 times spun for the purpose of being made into gloves 

 and stockings ; but for whatever purpose it is used, it 

 is tender, and therefore very unprofitable to the 

 wearer. The pelt, or skin after the fur has been re- 

 moved, is of a little more use. It is of small service 

 as leather ; but it can be made into colourless glue of 

 very good quality. 



There are many varieties, that is varieties in size 

 and colour, of hares, of which specimens have been 

 brought from different parts of the world ; but it does 

 not appear that there is any great difference in man- 

 ners, except in so far as these are dependent upon 

 difference of climate and food. We shall therefore 

 give only a brief notice of a few of the more remark- 

 able ones ; and, as generally applicable to them, we 

 may mention that in the warm countries the species 

 which keep more to the hills are more analogous to 

 our hares ; and those which keep more to the low 

 and fertile districts are more analogous to our rabbits. 

 BLACK-TAILED HARE (L. nigricaudatus). This 

 species is American, and found in the extensive plains 

 which lie to the northward of Mexico, and between 

 that country arid what may be regarded as polar 

 America. The length of the head and body is about 

 twenty-three inches, the head to the ears four inches, 

 and the ears five. " The softness and general appear- 

 ance of the fur resemble those of a rabbit rather than 

 of a hare. The colouring of the under surface is 

 separated from that of the upper by a distinct line 

 about the middle of the side, which slopes upwards 

 over the haunches to the middle line of the back. 

 Behind this point, the white passing backwards along 

 the middle line becomes more and more blended with 

 black, until the colour of the upper surface of the tail 

 is entirely black. The ears, which are longer than 

 the head, are closely covered with short depressed 

 hairs These are in front mixed with black and yel- 

 low, giving a grizzled appearance ; on the hinder part 

 they are entirely ochraceous for about two-thirds of 

 the length of the ear, the terminal third as well as the 

 tip and the hinder fringe being white, and furnished 

 with much longer hairs. The long hairs fringing the 

 anterior edge are ochraceous, excepting for a short 

 distance immediately below the tip, along which space 

 they are black." The specimen on which the aiJove 

 remarks were made by Mr. Bennett, before the com- 

 mittee of the Zoological Society, was obtained from 

 California, a country of the zoology of which we knew 

 little till lately. The mountainous parts of this coun- 



augers, for defending the rabbits against cold and i try are in general covered with forests, and some of 



vermin, till they make holes for themselves. The the trees are of immense size ; but still between the 



too great succulence of their diet should be corrected coast forests and the ridge of the stony mountains, 



by a due mixture of hard and dry food, such as hay, there are plains of vast extent, on which there are no 



barley, clover, oats, &c., to prevent scouring, which large trees, though plenty of bushes and herbaceous 



frequently proves fatal to them : the same precaution vegetation. In such places we may naturally expect 



will likewise save them from dropsy, a complaint a great number of rodent animals ; and as the rodentia 



