LEPUS. 



lour, likewise, to that of the ground, is an- 

 other circumstance considerably in its fa- 

 vour. In the more northern regions, dur- 

 ing 1 the rigours of winter, its coat be- 

 comes of a perfect whiteness. By the 

 particular structure of the hind-feet of 

 this animal, it is qualified to run with ra- 

 pidity up a considerable ascent, and seems 

 to be conscious of this advantage, by fre- 

 quently taking such a direction as gives 

 it the full benefit of this peculiarity. 



The average duration of the hare is 

 about seven years ; but so numerous are 

 its enemies, that, notwithstanding the ad- 

 vantages above-mentioned, it very fre- 

 quently fails to attain its natural term. 

 It is pursued by dogs and foxes with mor- 

 tal and unrelenting antipathy. Weasels, 

 wild-cats, and wolves, seize and devour it 

 whenever it is within their reach ; and 

 eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey, 

 are also destructive enemies ; but the 

 most formidable of all is man, who finds 

 one of the most interesting of his diver- 

 sions in its persecution, and one of the 

 highest luxuries of his table in its flesh. 

 Indeed, so prolific is the hare, that with- 

 out experiencing very considerable hos- 

 tility, it would multiply to a most injurious 

 degree ; and in some districts of France, 

 where the game was particularly and as- 

 siduously secured by the proprietors, no 

 fewer than five hundred hares have been 

 killed within a small compass in a single 

 day. 



The hare, if taken young, maybe tamed 

 and domestciated. It has occasionally 

 been suckled and nursed by a cat. The 

 celebrated Sonnini,the traveller and natu- 

 ralist, had a hare in a complete state of 

 domestication; and Cowper, the poet, 

 was in possession of three, whose com- 

 forts he attended to with the most hu- 

 mane assiduity, and whose manners he 

 has described with much interest and dis- 

 crimination. The fur of the hare is of 

 eminent, and almost indispensable utility, 

 in the hat manufactory, and innumerable 

 skins are annually brought to this country 

 for that purpose from the north of Eu- 

 rope. 



This animal was regarded by Moses as 

 unclean, and unfit for food ; it is consider- 

 ed in the same light also by the Mahome- 

 tans. The Romans used to value it highly 

 for the table. By the undent Britons it 

 was considered as partaking somewhat of 

 a sacred character, which forbade their 

 application of it to so ordinary a purpose. 

 Hares have been seen in (his country 

 perfectly white, as in more northern re- 

 gions, and accounts of horned hares have 

 been given to the public upon unques- 



tionable authority, though such animals 

 are of extremely rare occurrence. For 

 the Common Hare, see Mammalia, Plate 

 XV. fig. 3. 



L. variabilis, or the varying hare, is an 

 inhabitant of the loftiest territories of the 

 north, both of Europe and America. Its 

 colour in summer is a tawny grey, and in 

 winter it is changed to a perfect white. 

 It never associates with the common hare, 

 and rarely descends from its elevated 

 haunts into the vallies ; though occasion- 

 ally, in a rigorous winter, numbers of 

 these animals are seen to quit the frozen 

 elevations of Siberia, and migrate for 

 subsistence to the woody and sheltered 

 plains. 



L. cuniculus, or the rabbit, is found in 

 most temperate climates, but not far to 

 the north. Its fecundity is extreme, and 

 in some countries has occasioned it to be 

 considered as one of the greatest annoy- 

 ances. It will breed, in favourable circum- 

 stances, seven times in a year, and pro- 

 duces about eight young ones at a time. 

 It is most strikingly similar to the hare in 

 general appearance ; but while the hare 

 prefers the uncovered field, the rabbit 

 burrows in the ground. It has sharp and 

 long claws for this purpose, and chooses 

 dry and chalky soils, in which it can with 

 the greatest ease construct its mansion, 

 It lives to the age of about eight years. 

 The female prepares a bed for its young 

 before their birth, from its own coat, of 

 the finest and warmest materials, nurses 

 them with incessant assiduity, and is 

 obliged often to secrete them from the 

 malignant attempts of the male, which 

 have been known, in many instances, to 

 be fatal to them. In England, particularly 

 in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, rabbits 

 are abundant, and their fur is of nearly 

 equal value with their flesh. 



The hare and rabbit never intermix, 

 and appear to contemplate each other 

 without the slightest sympathy. The 

 principal difference between these two 

 animals consists in the proportional length 

 of the hind legs to that of the back. For 

 the Rabbit, see Mammalia, Plate XV. 

 fig. 4. 



JL. alpinus, or the Alpine hare, is about 

 the size of a Guinea pig, is a native of the 

 Altaic mountains, and burrows in the: 

 clefts of the rocks, or resides in the hol- 

 lows of trees. These animals avoid the 

 glare of day, and appear only by night, or 

 in obscure and dull weather. They col- 

 lect in summer a preparation of herbage, 

 the most delicate and fragrant, and having 

 dried it with the utmost care, set it aside 

 in compact heaps for their subsistence 



