58 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



for the chance of a clear coast, so that he may fetch the 

 hare in broad daylight. But give the cunning poacher 

 the smallest hint that the keeper knows about his snares 

 and he will leave them alone altogether. He will only 

 visit his snares when he has no reason to suspect that a 

 keeper has heard of them otherwise the keeper may be 

 watching to " put a stop to these here little games." 



The March hare is certainly mad ; what but madness 

 could cause him to go capering round and round a 



field for hours at a stretch ? The battles of 

 Hares 1 ^ e hares are waged in companies ; you may 



see a score of militant, amorous hares to- 

 gether, and several couples will be engaged in duels. 

 The combatants rear themselves on their hind legs, 

 and spar furiously with their front feet, and when 

 one of a fighting pair has had enough of it another in- 

 stantly takes his place ; while the hare that refuses to 

 fight may be chased until forced to turn and square 

 himself to the battle. The whole company may set 

 upon some poor coward, and worry his life out of him. 

 It would seem that when once hares and rabbits 

 have finished their duels, so common a sight in the 

 country in March, they live peaceably enough through 

 the rest of the breeding season. After these early 

 days of courting, one seldom sees more than a slight 

 skirmish between a couple of hares or rabbits, though 

 the does breed again and again through the summer. 



