4 o THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



and differ very much in detail. Young rabbits are born naked, helpless, and 

 blind ; young hares furred, with eyes open, and able to run. Rabbits burrow ; 

 hares do not, being content with the concealment afforded by the long grass 

 in which they make their " forms." The habits and general characterization 

 of rabbits are so well known that I draw attention only to one or two details. 

 The under side of the tail is white, to serve as a signal to its neighbours. In 

 a warren, when the first rabbit spies an intruder and moves off to its hole, 

 the flickering of the white tail immediately informs the others that flight is 

 necessary. 



The female makes a separate burrow when about to have young, with 

 only one entrance (instead of the usual two). On leaving her nest for food, 

 she closes the hole with earth to prevent foes from scenting her babies. 



2. The Common Hare (Lepus europceus). This mammal is always larger 

 than the rabbit, with much longer ears in proportion, and tail ; the hind-legs 

 are also much longer. Hares breed twice a year, and have two to five young 

 at a birth, known as leverets ; these are the most appealingly pretty and 

 timid babes in Nature's nursery. 



The " form " or nest of the hare consists of a smooth space in a tuft of 

 grass or other vegetation, stamped flat by the hare's feet, and " cooked " into 

 dry hay by the heat and pressure of the creature's body lying upon it. 



Note that neither hares nor rabbits can walk. Their method of progress is 

 by galloping and jumping. The hare is not only remarkably swift, but ex- 

 tremely clever and agile in eluding pursuers. It can " double " instantane- 

 ously, and would always escape the dogs, except when the course is over 

 carefully arranged ground. 



It is said that the origin of the famous " Brer Rabbit " is not the rabbit, 

 but the hare. Early American colonists (says Sir H. Johnston) called all 

 hares rabbits, and the slaves brought from West Africa, with their folk-lore 

 of beast tales, adopted the word " rabbit " for their four-legged hero. Cer- 

 tainly it is the hare that figures in the Greek stories. 



This hare is not found in Ireland, but is common in England. 



3. The Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) is slightly smaller than the above, 

 and is coloured a yellowish grey in summer, whilst in winter it becomes white, 

 like the stoat. This variety is found in Ireland and the Highlands, but not 

 in England ; the Irish hare does not, however, become white in the winter. 



4. The Common Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). The squirrel belongs to a 

 group of rodents known as Simplicidentata possessors of but one pair of 

 incisor teeth in both jaws. This group includes by far the greatest number 

 of rodents, and in England is represented by (besides squirrels) dormice and 

 rats. It used to include BEAVERS, but the latter species has been extinct for 

 centuries (though of late years experiments have been tried in various parts 

 of the country to acclimatize it again), and there is nothing of it left but its 

 name, which still clings to some localities Beverley, in Yorkshire, is a corrup- 

 tion of Beaver-lac (the " Beaver's Lake ") ; probably Beverston = " Beavers' 



