488 The Outline of Science 



the wild." It has been known to travel fifteen miles in a night, 

 and not infrequently the holts where it lies up during the day are 

 ten or twelve miles apart. It passes from tarn to stream, from 

 river to shore ; it swims out to an island in the sea ; it explores the 

 caves on the cliffs; it crosses the hills and hides in a cairn; it is 

 always on the move a gipsy among carnivores. In resourceful- 

 ness the otter is unsurpassed lying hidden below the waterfall, 

 wrenching a trap off under the roots of the alder-trees, diving at 

 the flash of a gun, even hunting for pike beneath the ice of the 

 lake. There are savage fights between two dog-otters who desire 

 the same mate; the parents are often severely taxed to provide 

 for the young; but the greater part of the otter's struggle for 

 existence in Britain is in circumventing the difficulties of modern 

 life. 



The Common Hare 



The Common Hare (Lepus europceus] might be called a 

 gentle Ishmaelite. Everyone's hand is against it, but it is against 

 no one unless it be greatly roused, for instance by a stoat ap- 

 proaching its leverets at play. Yet it extends all over Europe, 

 except in Ireland, the north of Scandinavia, and the north of 

 Russia. How does it survive? It seeks resting-places or "forms" 

 from which it gets a good look-out over the surrounding country ; 

 it has long-sighted eyes, quicker ears, and keen smell ; it utters a 

 danger-call to its kin by grinding its teeth; its heart is such that 

 it can put on full speed the moment flight is signalled; it rejoices 

 in an uphill race ; it criss-crosses its tracks so that even the astute 

 fox is baffled ; it disappears like an arrow when it is startled ; and 

 even when it is .resting among the ferns and herbage, or on a 

 ploughed field, it is almost invisible save as to its wide staring eyes. 

 Much as it dislikes wetting its fur, which is slow to dry, it will 

 swim across a broad river to baulk pursuit or to reach greatly 

 appreciated dainties like musk and camomile. Epicure as it is, 

 fond of tender corn and the sweet trefoil, of wild thyme and the 



