52 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



often frisk and play about in a most amusing manner. 

 Evening, in fact, is as much the playtime of the hare 

 as it is of the cat. They travel about and feed during 

 night time, and at early morning return to their forms 

 again. In doing this their instinct prompts them 

 to take extraordinary precautions, weaving a maze 

 of tracks, returning upon their foil, and often making 

 a series of leaps, the final one landing the hare in her 

 seat. A hare, presumably from fear of discovery, 

 does not use the same form for long together. In 

 the autumn these animals are often to be found in 

 roots, especially turnips, stubble, and long grass, 

 where they lie extraordinarily close. They wiU sit, 

 too, in copses, woods, gorse, withy beds, and planta- 

 tions. In marsh country, especially where the marshes 

 are, as in the Pevensey district, not too wet, hares will 

 be found lying out all winter. Towards November 

 they quit the coverts and are found more frequently 

 on ploughs and fallows. They are not fond of windy 

 situations, and are said to be able to foretell changes 

 of weather and to seat themselves accordingly. The 

 hare must truly be a hardy beast to lie out as she 

 does, exposed to the weather, in the depth of winter, 

 sometimes amid heavy snow. 



Hare-finding is an extraordinarily difficult business, 

 and a man must be lynx-eyed indeed to be able to 

 note a hare quickly in her form. Some men seem 

 to possess this faculty by instinct, and are invaluable 

 when hounds are drawing for their game. As a rule, 

 there are but two or three men in each Hunt, sometimes 

 fewer, who have the gift of hare-finding. Constant 

 practice may help, of course ; but the novice, unless 

 he is naturally fond of the country and country 

 pursuits, and has the faculty of observation, wiU 

 find his education in this respect a difficult one. In 



