CHAPTER XXIL THE HARE. 



INTRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF A STOCK HARE 

 WARRENS, &c. CATCHING HARES DISEASES PRO- 

 TECTION. 



ANY locality where hares are occasionally met with may 

 be considered suitable for re-establishing or increasing 

 the stock. Various causes have at different times contributed 

 to a great diminution in the number of hares in some dis- 

 tricts. Three of the most prominent may be briefly men- 

 tioned : Late hunting, poaching, and the increase of rabbits. 

 The first is an unpardonable, but not the less frequent sin 

 against sporting interests, and the second is preventable ; 

 but the last requires a word of special comment, because 

 it has been said that the increase of rabbits on an estate 

 will not hinder the hares in the least. It is certain, how- 

 ever, that one cannot have a half-and-half warren and 

 preserve a good stock of hares, and if a head of the latter 

 be wanted, the conies must be kept down. 



A stock of hares can be produced in two ways, either by 

 buying some and turning them down, or by the organisation 

 of a hare warren as a nursery. In either case it is absolutely 



