.S74 THE COMMON RABBIT. 



will therefore disapprove of the logic of that wicked poet, 

 Thomas Hood, who says, 



" If bellies all are made alike, as parsons oft declare, oh ! 



Then ploughmen can, as well as lords, eat pheasants, grouse, or hare, oh ! 



But if such things were for great folks, and not at all for lowly, 



Then heaven had written on their backs ' For lords and gentles solely.' " 



The far of the hare is used very extensively in the manufacture 

 of hats, caps, and other wearing- apparel. 



THE COMMON RABBIT. (Lepus cuniculus, Linn.) 

 Rabbet. Coney. 



The present species, according to Cuvier, is distributed 

 throughout Europe j but it is not improbable, that from the 

 close general resemblance which exists between several different 

 species of this genus, that more than one distinct species may 

 have been taken for the present. 



In Great Britain, generally, the common rabbit is abundant. 

 It is at once distinguished from the hare by several obvious 

 characteristics. The rabbit is altogether more robust ; the head 

 is much shorter -, the ears are only about as long as the head, 

 and have no black tips ; the hind legs are also shorter. The 

 ordinary length of adult specimens is one foot four inches and 

 a half, or, including the extent of the tail, one foot seven inches 

 and three-quarters. The upper portions of the fur are greyish 



