HABE-HUNTiNO.] FOK MOUNTAIN, FIELD, AND FAlOr. [uabe-iiuntiko. 



attention, no sooner has ho arrived at a certain 

 aijo, than \\o generally seizes tlie first opportu- 

 nity of ri'ooverini^ his liberty, and Hying to the 

 fields. 



AVhile Dr. Town.^on was at Goltiiigen, lie 



the Druids, and by the Britons of the early 

 centuries. It is now, tliough very black, dry, 

 and devoid of fat, much esteiMned bv the 

 Europeans, on account of its peculiar flavour. 

 iMr. Greill", in his work on Sweden, makes 



hail a young hare brought to him, which ho , some pertinent remarks relative to the chase, 

 took so ujuch pains with as to render it more and the natural history of the hare in ihat 



familiar than tliese animals commonly are. In 

 the evenings, it soon became so frolicsome, as 



country : — 



" The hare hunt, with the harriers so called, 



to run and jump about his sofa and bed : soii-.e- ' or the common hounds," he says, " is one of 

 times in its play it would leap upon him, and tiie pleasantest sports; but, if you do not wish 

 pat him with its lore feet; or, while he was to be deprived of this sport in course of time, 



reading, even knock the book out of his hand 

 But whenever a stranger entered the room, 

 the little creature always exhibited considerable 

 alarm. 



Mr. Borlase saw a hare that was so familiar 

 as to feed from the hand, lie under a chair in 

 a common sitting-room, and appear in every 

 other respect as easy and comfortable in its 



you ought not to prosecute it at all seasons ot 

 the year. It is true that the female brings 

 forth young three times, from March to June 

 inclusive, and has seven to eight young each 

 time ; but the mother's indifference for her 

 young, and the many kind of persecutions 

 they are subject to, are the cause lliat few 

 grow up, Tlie female never places the younf» 



situation as a lap-dog. It now and then went ones in one place, but one here, another tliere, 

 out into the garden ; but, after regaling itself, and perhaps visits them only two or three 

 always returned to the house as its proper i times, and perhaps never. I have, however, 



habitation. Its usual companions were a grey 

 hound and a spaniel ; both so fond of hare- 

 huutiug, that they often went out togethei", 

 without any person accompanying them. With 

 these two dogs this tame hare spent its even- 

 ings : they always slept on the same hearth, 

 and, very frequently, it would rest itself upon 

 them. 



Hares are very much infested with fleas. 

 Linnaeus tells us, that cloth made of their fur 

 will attract these insects, and preserve the 

 wearer himself from their troublesome attacks. 

 It is much hunted in almost every country. 



" Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare ! 

 Yet vain her best jjrecaution : though she sits 

 Conceal'd with folded ears ; unsleeping eyes. 

 By nature rais'd to take th' horizon in ; 

 And head conceal'd betwixt her hairy feet, 

 In act to spring away. The scented dew 

 Betrays her early labyrinth ; and deep 

 In scatter'd, sullen openings, far behind, 

 With ev'ry breeze, she hears the coming storm: 

 But nearer, and more frequent, as it loads 

 The sighing gale, she springs amaz'd, and all 

 The savage soul of game is up at once." 



In India the hare is hunted for sport; not 

 only with dogs, but with hawks, and some 

 species of the cat tribe. The flesh was re- 

 garded by Moses as unclean ; and, though in 

 esteem among the 3iomans, was forbidden by 



found three under the same bush ; but, as it 

 was during a hunt, it is possible that the par- 

 turition was hastened by the chase. Besides 

 man, who shoots and catches, the hare's ene- 

 mies are the wolf, fox, dog, cat, eagle, eagle- 

 owl, hare-owl, and hawks of difl'erent sorts. 

 In wet and rainy weather, midges and insects 

 fasten themselves about the eyes of the younf 

 hare, and inflame them so, tliat worms are 

 bred, and entirely consume them. In the bare 

 winter, or, in other words, if the ground be 

 not covered with snow, his white skin betrays 

 him. From March to August the hunting of 

 the hare should be continued with moderation ; 

 it is likewise necessary, for the breaking-iu of 

 the hounds, to let them hunt by the scent. A 

 prudent and old sportsman never shoots the 

 female at that period ; and if a fevr males are 

 shot, it does no harm. The female is generallv 

 larger, carries herself high when she runs, and 

 makes small bounds; the male is little, runs 

 low, and makes wide bounds. 



" It is asserted that old male hares kill the 

 young ones; but, I believe, the case is the 

 same with this as with other animals -that 

 when any of them get a good station, the 

 strongest drive the weakest from it. lu the 

 spring, it is easiest for the dogs to get them 

 up ; and, as the males ramble both night and 



429 



