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care of herself. No fox will ever attack a healthy hare, 

 and if attempting it once will not be hkely to try a 

 second time. What has led to the hare being considered 

 timid is her very highly strung nervous system, which 

 is controlled by an exceptionally acute sense of hearing 

 and smelling. 



Those who have witnessed fights between jack hares 

 in the spring of the year can testify to their pugnacity, 

 and it is by no means uncommon to pick up carcasses of 

 the vanquished after a battle. 



Although it is impossible to enter into the exact 

 feehngs of a hunted hare, my own opinion is that up to 

 almost the last moment she always expects to escape 

 by her natural cunning. 



When fox-hunting is impossible and the inhabitants 

 of the district want to ride, harriers afford a pleasant 

 make-shift, but in order to see the finer shades of venerie, 

 a hare should be hunted with small hounds, and the 

 followers, including the huntsman, should aU be afoot. 



A pack of beagles, preferably under fifteen inches, 

 will give those who follow good exercise and the best of 

 sport. Exercise of some kind is essential to health, 

 and hunting is the form prescribed by nature. Whatever 

 recreation we indulge in should be sufficiently engrossing 

 to absorb our whole interest and attention. Otherwise 

 the muscles may automatically be put in play, but 

 unless they are working in conjunction with the brain, 

 neither will derive the fuU benefit. The business or 

 professional man devoting his whole time to a sedentary 

 occupation is liable to a nervous breakdown by over- 

 taxing the mind and neglecting the body, so that any 

 sport or pastime he takes up should be of a character 

 to relieve all mental strain, and allow him temporarily 

 to forget life's worries. 



