ON RAPID STREAMS. 57 



at the end of the season March hare if you can 

 find one insane enough to be caught ; brash or 

 stroke his flax down very carefully over the back, 

 and make it quite smooth, and then take a very 

 sharp razor and shave him downwards, only over 

 the back ; you do not of course lather or even 

 wet his hair, but shave him dry, and when you 

 have removed all the cut hair, you will find the 

 remaining stumps looking black, and below this 

 the fur is light fawn colour, or almost white ; you 

 have .indeed removed all that portion of the flax 

 which gives the hare its peculiar colour which 

 you are requiring, and have left the less desirable 

 part or roots of the hair attached to the skin. 

 Shave an old doe and a leveret, the younger the 

 better ; and you will find the younger flax more 

 fawn colour, and not black or red; whilst the 

 older flax is darker, interspersed with some 

 blackish hairs, and has a red or rusty shade shot 

 as it were throughout it be particular to have 

 an abundance and much variety of hares' flax 

 no other flax equals it ; skin the ears and keep 

 the ears entire ; take a pad, and cut out the fore- 

 head, the rest you do not want : get some fur 

 from a fox's skin ; the pate of some foxes makes 

 a very rich body, the difficulty is to get a hackle 

 to match it ; and the entire skin of a very young 

 cub. Water-rat entire skins must be kept; be 

 sure you get water and not house rat, or at least 

 have both ; some of the latter, which have fine 

 and silky hair, are useful ; the coarser reject. A 

 mole's skin is useful ; its fur is convenient to 



