CHAPTER XXI.-THE HARE. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



WE now arrive at the consideration of the furred mem- 

 bers of the covert Ground Game, as they have lately 

 been named by Act of Parliament, and of this description the 

 Hare and the Rabbit are the only representatives. More- 

 over, neither of these comes under the general laws for 

 regulating the killing of game. For neither hares nor 

 rabbits is there any close time in this country, although the 

 former possess one in Ireland. They depend, therefore, for 

 their existence in Great Britain wholly upon game preserva- 

 tion, for without that both hares and rabbits would, as far as 

 sport goes, be things of the past. 



There are two, if not three varieties of the hare in these 

 islands, viz., the common hare (Lepus timidus} } and the 

 Scotch, Alpine, or Mountain Hare (Lepus variabilis) ; the 

 third, if it deserves a separate class, is the Irish Hare (Lepus 

 Hibernicus). The aspect of the first-named is too well 

 known to need description, but the mountain hare (we con- 

 sider this the best name for it) varies somewhat in colour, the 

 ears are shorter, and are tipped with black, In size it is less 



