STUDIES IN HARE LIFE 13 



or less with improper feeding and want of adequate 

 exercise and fresh air ; and these disorders can be 

 overcome by patience and trouble. But I never yet 

 met anyone who had devoted special attention to the 

 investigation of the diseases which affect our smaller 

 wild animals. 



The topic seems to suggest fresh fields for skilled 

 research. This is only one, however, of the many 

 bypaths to be followed by the votaries of science. 

 Very few of us have adequate opportunities of con- 

 ducting such serious experiments as those just sug- 

 gested ; but we can all of us find an unlimited source 

 of amusement in studying the natural traits of wild 

 animals. There may not be much of importance 

 to discover in the habits of the hare. Yet I question 

 whether anyone could devote a few weeks to patient 

 observation of a single species of quadruped without 

 obtaining a corresponding amount of pleasure. Men 

 often neglect to study the habits of the birds or 

 beasts which live around them, simply because, they 

 say, ' they are so common.' Almost every bird or 

 beast is common somewhere ; but its abundance or 

 scarcity is of minor importance to the true naturalist. 

 What he aims at is to catch the spirit of the woods, 

 to watch silently every movement of the woodpecker 

 that is boring in the old timber, to catch the sibilant cry 



