34 NATURAL IITSTORY OF THE HARE 



mentioned once already, but which always strikes me 

 as being curious, is the dislike which hares manifest 

 towards rabbits. Perhaps I should rather say the 

 animosity which rabbits display towards hares ; for, 

 singularly enough, the smaller animals are sufficiently 

 bold to drive the hares before them. This can 

 easily be verified by observation in the early hours of 

 the day, in any place where both species happen to 

 be numerous. 



The hare is essentially a fastidious animal. Like 

 the sheep, it refuses to graze on grass lands which 

 rabbits have defiled. The hare loves to feed on 

 the tender shoots of the young barley when it is 

 only about a foot above the ground, which is of 

 course in the month of March. St. John thought 

 that the human eye had a fascinating power over the 

 hare. 'As long as you keep your eye fixed on that 

 of the hare, and approach her from the front, she 

 appears afraid to move, and, indeed, will sometimes 

 allow herself to be taken up by the hand. A hare, 

 when dogs are near her, is particularly unwilling 

 to start from her form. In cover shooting many of 

 the old and experienced hares steal off quietly the 

 moment they hear the sound of dogs or beaters at 

 one end of the wood ; and thus their quick senses 

 of hearing and smelling enable them to escape 



