372 .S7'G> A' TL\G A D J 7LY TURES 



tail is short, being 1 scarcely half the length of the ear; and the 

 fur is coarse and bristly. It changes much in colour at various 

 periods, but its usual summer coating is a grayish yellow-brown 

 above, and a grayish beneath. 



One striking peculiarity between the Western hares is, that 

 while the skull of the mule and the large California!! hare is 

 narrow, the width being less than one half the length, that of 

 the others is broad, the width being about half the length. 

 The European rabbit, L. cunicnhis, would seem to be the 

 connecting link between these two classes, so far as the 

 form of the skull is concerned, as it occupies the medium posi- 

 tion. 



One of the largest, if not the largest, hare in the North-west 

 is the polar hare (L. glacialus] , which is very abundant in 

 Alaska and portions of British America. Its cars are four-fifths 

 the length of the head, and its tail is proportionately long. It 

 turns completely white in winter; but in summer it is a 

 yellowish-brown and gray above varied with black ; and the 

 ears are a glossy black outside. 



The L. washingtonii takes the place of the common American 

 hare, of which it is a variety, west of the llocky Mountains, 

 and is there very abundant. The ears are shorter than the 

 head, but the hind feet are longer, while the tail is very short. 

 The back, sides, and throat are a reddish-brown ; the abdomen 

 is pure white ; and the tail is a lead colour above and a rusty 

 white beneath. It is a handsome specimen of its family, and 

 occupies a position between the Lcpus americanus and the 

 wood hare, L. sylvaikus ; but it is readily distinguished from 

 the latter by its smaller size and shorter ears, which are reddish 

 externally. It turns white in winter. 



The Lejms campestris, or prairie hare, is one of the largest of 

 the American LejMridte, and is the only species of the long-eared 

 hares that turns white in winter. Its ears arc about one-lifth 

 longer than the head ; the tail is as long as the head, and the 

 hind feet are longer. Its summer colour is a pale } cllowish- 

 gray above, a white beneath, and the tail is all white. It 

 attains various degrees of weight and length, according to its 

 habitat ; but it is no unusual event to find one over two feet 



