1 8 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HARE 



leverets do not breed nearly so fast as those kittled in 

 March, April, and May.' ' 



Here I may observe that the hare makes her nest 

 in a tuft of grass or rough herbage, carefully concealed 

 from prying eyes by the stems which she is artful 

 enough to pull over it. It is frequently placed in a pas- 

 ture field, and almost always in a dry situation, often 

 on a knoll of ground slightly elevated above the level 

 of the rest of the field. The doe is a good parent, but 

 she does not usually suckle her young by day, pre- 

 ferring to nurse the tiny leverets under cover of dark- 

 ness. These latter are fairly hardy and can be reared by 

 hand without difficulty. The domestic cat is some- 

 times used as a foster-mother for leverets. 'When 

 shooting in Hampshire on the 15th September,' 

 writes Mr. Wm. Houghton, I killed a doe hare out of 

 a small piece of turnips, and shortly afterwards found 

 near the same spot three small leverets. Wishing to 

 save their lives, I enquired in the neighbourhood for 

 a cat \vith kittens, and soon after found one with four, 

 about the same age as the leverets — I should say about 

 a week old. Removing three of the kittens, I substi- 

 tuted the young hares, which the cat has taken to 

 kindly, and when I left a few days after they were 

 getting on nicely. Having understood that if more 



' Fields May 28, 1S92. 



