THE JACKASS-RABBIT. 139 



opportunity to pounce down upon it. Hawks and 

 falcons are its sworn foes ; but they are all mild tor- 

 mentors compared with the great horned-owl {Bubo 

 Virginianus). Yet, in spite of all these, there are 

 hares enough to afford good sport to a party of hun- 

 ters, who don't mind leading rather a rough life for a 



w^eek or two. 



****** 



The Texan hare {Lepus Texianus), or, as it is vul- 

 garly called, jackass-rabbit, is a much larger animal 

 than the common American hare. It has been found 

 to measure a foot and nine inches in length from the 

 nose to the root of the tail, the tail itself being fully 

 four inches. Its ears are often more than six inches in 

 leno-th, and from this circumstance it received the name 

 of jackass-rabbit from the early settlers in Texas and 

 the adjoining regions. It is the largest of all hares 

 found on the American continent, weighing sometimes 

 as much as fourteen pounds. In colour it differs but 

 slightly from other species. It has a dark brown stripe 

 on the top of the neck, and a black stripe, extending 

 from the rump to the tip of the tail, on its upper sur- 

 face. The line of w^hite on the belly and flanks is 

 very ii-regular in shape. The w^hiskers are white, 

 though a few of them are black at the roots. The 

 young of the Texan hare have generally a white mark 

 on the top of their heads. The fringe of hairs bor- 

 dering the ears is very coarse and rigid. 



