62 NATURE STUDY. 



the rabbit hops and jumps may show the marks he 

 makes, which the children may often see in the snow. 



Adaptation for locomotion. Which legs are the longer 

 and stronger? Why? Why do the hind legs (the 

 portion most readily seen) double backward, like the 

 joint at our ankle, while our legs have the main joint, 

 at the knee, doubled forward ? Is there any advantage 

 in this arrangement when the rabbit hops or jumps ? 

 Compare with cat, dog, and horse. Why is it easier for 

 the rabbit to hop or jump than to walk ? How are his 

 feet and toes arranged and covered to prevent jar and 

 noise when he moves ? 



Summary. As hopping is the main means of locomo- 

 tion, so far as the children can usually observe, empha- 

 size this. Have the pupils tell, and if necessary show, 

 or illustrate, exactly how the rabbit hops, and tell what 

 they can about walking and jumping. Have others tell, 

 with the rabbits before them, how the legs, fore and 

 hind, are fitted for hopping and jumping rapidly and 

 noiselessly. Reading and discussing Gibson's How 

 Bunny Writes His Autograph will further summarize 

 and impress what they have observed. 

 \ STEP 3. Playing, breathing, burrowing. 



Playing. Nothing probably will so impress on chil- 

 dren the similarity between rabbits and themselves, 

 u how akin they are to human things," as watching 

 their frolics. The rabbits the writer observed had great 

 frolics in the schoolroom after most of the pupils had 

 left, playing " leap-frog," "tag," and other games, and 

 acting like two happy, active children. 



