COOA'J^A'\ OF THE HARE 241 



and dogs wander at will. \w the latter case Mr. 

 Iiellamy likens the condition of the unfortunate hare 

 to that of a racehorse continually in training. Scrupu- 

 lously judged, according to this authority, the best 

 English hares for the table are those which come from 

 the Wiltshire or Surrey Downs, the Cotswold Hills, 

 the Welsh mountains, the moors of Devon and York- 

 shire, &c., for in such regions they feed on wild stull, 

 thus surpassing those from agricultural districts that 

 are nourished upon wheat and other crops, even on 

 garden produce. Imported hares from Russia and 

 Northern Germany should be described as large, 

 coarse, and wanting in flavour, yet not to be wholly 

 condemned for soup-making and stews for those to 

 whom the British aninial may be too expensive. They 

 cannot, however, be considered as food meet for the 

 true disciple of Gastraea. 



There was an old idea, which may be retained by 

 some, perhaps, to this day, that a coursed or hunted 

 hare was infinitely superior, from an epicurean point 

 of view, to one killed by the gun. Mr. Bellamy is 

 altogether of a different opinion, going back to what 

 has been said before about wounded game. Fright, 

 he maintains, has just as prejudicial an effect upon 

 the flesh as the pain of a broken leg. Thus we can 

 accept Dr. Redgill's dictum in the 'Proceedings of 



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