172 OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



The little wood had grown up very thick, and 

 there was much underbrush, so that Bunny 

 could take sharp turns that were hard for the 

 dog to follow. Usually the dog would soon 

 find it necessary to follow the scent and de- 

 pend upon his nose, rather than his eyes. As 

 soon as the rabbit had a safe lead, he would 

 begin running in circles, then in double circles 

 or figure eights, frequently coming back to the 

 same point. Nearly always this would be too 

 much for the dog, as he could not unravel the 

 maze of mystery, and he would run round and 

 round over the same tracks which he had al- 

 ready followed. After making a few such 

 puzzling trails to occupy the dog, Bunny 

 would run straight away as fast as he could go 

 for the blackberry thicket near the Natural- 

 ist's house, for dogs were not permitted to 

 trouble him there. 



Laboratory scientists who have used white 

 rabbits in confinement to study their reasoning 

 powers, have found them very stupid animals. 



Out-of-door naturalists, who have watched 

 them in the open and admired the many tricks 

 which they use to avoid their numerous en- 

 emies, have found them to be very clever in- 

 deed. The laboratory naturalist will say that 



