PART 11. 

 CHAPTER I. 



HARES. 



By Major Arthur T. Fisher. 



It would be indeed regrettable if our British hare were 

 exterminated; yet, some thirty years ago, such seemed by no 

 means impossible, for our stock was so rapidly diminishing that 

 it was with difficulty that the Committee of some coursing 

 meetings could make their arrangements. But since that time 

 normal conditions have returned, and hares are to-day apparently 

 as abundant as before the passing of the Ground Game Act. 



Hares afford a large amount of sport, to say nothing of their 

 value ?s most excellent food. To the lovers of Natural History 

 their habits and ways are full of interest. For several years my 

 home was situated at the foot of the Wiltshire Downs, where I 

 rented a long strip of shooting, some two or three miles in 

 length, and so had ample opportunity afforded me of studying 

 their habits. 



It seems that we have at least some four distinct varieties of 

 the hare in Britain. First, there is the comparatively small hare 

 of the Midlands, perhaps more valuable for its edible qualities 

 than for sport; the marsh hare, better for sport than table; 

 the large long leggy hare of the Downlands, and the blue 

 mountain hare of Scotland, which turns nearly to quite white 

 in winter. 



Many years ago I wrote and published a work entitled 

 Outdoor Life in England. At the present time it is out of 



