14 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HARE 



of the crested tit, or to follow the graceful movements 

 of the squirrels as they playfully chase their fellows 

 through the green leaves. If we try to study nature 

 unaffectedly, and start with a wholesome knowledge 

 of our own crass ignorance, we can fmd plenty of 

 diversion even in working out the habits of such a 

 familiar beast as the brown hare. Although popularly 

 supposed to live exclusively under an open sky, the 

 hare has a strong partiality for the vicinity of covert, 

 to which she often repairs for shelter at the break of 

 day. The wild, free life of the woods is entirely to 

 the taste of the hare. She likes to bound joyously 

 along, unimpeded by the fear of impending disaster ; 

 for at the best she is a shy and timid creature, little 

 able to protect her delicate frame from the onslaught 

 of ancestral foes. The amorous character of the hare 

 is well marked. The male sex is generally in numeri- 

 cal excess ; to this circumstance are due the blood- 

 less conflicts in which jack hares are accustomed to 

 engage at the beginning of the mating time. The 

 males fight with their feet, and make the down of 

 their opponents fly freely. They are especially in- 

 terested in the duties of reproduction during the 

 month of March, at which time they are unusually 

 playful and full of antics ; hence the proverb, ' As mad 

 as a March hare.' Practical men are not agreed as 



