The Confessions of a Poacher. 73 



few months in which leverets are not born. 

 In mild winters young ones are found in 

 January and February, whilst in March they 

 have become common. They may be seen 

 right on through summer and autumn, and last 

 December I saw a brace of leverets a month old. 

 Does shot in October are sometimes found to 

 be giving milk, and in November old hares are 

 not unfrequently noticed in the same patch of 

 cover. These facts would seem to point to 

 the conclusion that the hare propagates its 

 species almost the whole year round a startling 

 piece of evidence to the older naturalists. Add 

 to this that hares pair when a year old, that 

 gestation lasts only thirty days, and it will be 

 seen what a possibly prolific animal the hare 

 may be. The young are born covered with 

 fur, and after a month leave their mother to 

 seek their own subsistence. 



F2 



