THE FLYING AND GROUND GAME OP THE YANGTZE VALLEY 27 



they are prolifically parturient, often giving birth to five young at a time, while the foetus of 

 an ordinary sized doe has been found to contain as many as seven embryos. Another 

 marked point of difference is the coarse, almost bristly, nature of the hide. 



For nearly 20 years after the Taiping Rebellion the low lying grass lands of this 

 province, especially those known as the Kashing and Hai E plains, and the endless reed beds 

 to the West of the Tai Hu and round about the city of Kintang were the favoured haunts 

 of the river deer, but now an energetic cultivation and an acutely active reclamation of the 

 marsh lands and reed beds have driven them to the countless asylums which fringe the river 

 Yangtze, whence our market supplies are chiefly derived. When the river is in autumn flood 

 and the border lands inundated, the loss of deer life must be simply appalling, for though 

 the deer is a quick and strong swimmer it stands but a poor chance when it attempts to 

 stem the river's resistless current, as those well know who have witnessed the pitiful yet 

 enormous loss of life from drowning. As has been said before there is no skill required in 

 and no sport derived from killing our local deer, which are always at the mercy of a 

 charge of No. 8 shot. But the natives have a double view in the slaughter of the deer ; the 

 first is protective, for there can be no shadow of doubt that the animal plays havoc with the 

 grain crops; the second economical, for the deer is always marketable all over the 

 country, and 2,000 or 3,000 come annually to the Shanghai market. Such venison as is 

 afforded by the river deer is by no means considered a table luxury, but in conjunction 

 with good beefsteak constitutes a valuable basis for game pie. A fair average weight 

 for a river deer is 22 lbs. No. 8 shot is quite large enough to knock over a deer at 

 25 yards. 



The China Hares {Lepus swinboei) {Ltpus sinensis). 



The river Yangtze is the dividing line between the ranges of the two species of hares 

 which are met with in North China. 



On the North bank of the river and hinterland is found the larger species which very 

 closely resembles its European congener in its habits, size and colouring. It has its "runs" 

 as surely as ever has the English hare. A fair average weight may be placed somewhere 

 between 5 and 7 lbs. and the animal has the distinctive black points and tips to the ears, 

 while the upper surface of the scut is black. For long this hare was confounded with the 

 Mongolian species Lepus tolai but is now authoritatively stated to be a distinct species, 

 and has been named after a late naturalist consul here Lepus swinhoei. Known also as 

 the Shantung hare, it is shipped in large quantities to the Shanghai market, whose other 

 great source of supply is Nanking, from which place consignments of 50 brace at a time are 

 by no means uncommon. 



The other species, the one whose habitat is to the South of the river, used to be fairly 

 plentiful throughout this and the adjacent provinces. Comparatively, it is an insignificant, 

 small reddish-brown animal with a rufous patch at the base of the neck, the ears and upper 

 part of the tail much the same colour as the back. It is generally known as the Chinese 

 hare Lepus sinensis and weighs from 2 to 3 lbs. 



Like the deer, the hare in China is a prolific breeder often giving birth to a litter of 4 

 or 5 leverets. 



