THE BROWN HARE. 207 



country of its hare population, and the dead bodies 

 of the victims are littered like leaves over hundreds 

 of miles of territory. 



HABITS IN SNOW. 



The ' long valley' hare, like the rabbit, is subject 

 to fits of torpor during periods of deep snow and 

 cold. Seeking out its form, it allows itself to be- 

 come snowed in, and there remains, perhaps, for 

 several days in a more or less torpid condition. 

 This is about the wisest thing it could do under 

 the circumstances, for a hare in deep snow is de- 

 prived of its only weapon of self-defence its speed 

 and is, therefore, at the mercy of its foes man 

 included. Its enemies, moreover, realise its help- 

 lessness at such times, and are quick to profit by 

 the fact. One cannot imagine a kestrel being 

 guilty of attacking a hare in normal times, but 

 this small hawk will readily do so when the 

 hare is at a disadvantage in the snow. One 

 snowy morning I was walking down a hedge- 

 row in Northamptonshire, when I heard a hare 

 screaming in a thicket ahead. Going up to 

 the place and beating the hedge, I was sur- 

 prised to see a hare make off from one side 

 and a small kestrel from the other. Evidently 

 the hawk had attacked the hare out in the open, 

 but, unable to hold it, had been dragged into 

 the hedge. 



I once shot a merlin which was seated, as I 

 thought, on the snow. Going up to it, I found 

 that the little bird had just killed a white 

 mountain-hare, which was several times larger 

 than itself. 



Thus the hare's possible enemies in normal times 

 become probable enemies in snow times, and wise 



