ledge of rock is selected. The young, 

 when born, are covered with hair, their 

 eyes are open, and they are able almost 

 immediately to support themselves. 

 The rabbit, on the other hand, is born 

 with closed eyes, and requires the con- 

 stant attention of the mother for some 

 time. The hares are not so prolific as 

 the rabbits, the female bringing forth 

 but from three to five young at a 

 litter, the rabbits bearing from five to 

 eight. 



Hares generally feed at night, lying 

 in their forms in some bush or copse 

 during the greater part of the day; rab- 

 bits, on the contrary, generally remain 

 in the warmest corner of the burrow 

 during the dark hours. The food of 

 the hare consists of all kinds of vege- 

 tables similar in nature to cabbage and 

 turnips, which are favorite dainties with 

 it; it is also especially fond of lettuce 

 and parsley. 



The great speed of the hare in run- 

 ning is chiefly due to the fact that the 

 hind legs are longer than the fore. 

 This is also the reason why it can run 

 better up hill than down. Generally it 

 utters a sound only when it sees itself 

 in danger. This cry resembles that of 

 a little child, being a shrill scream or 

 squeak. 



Among the perceptive senses of the 

 hare, hearing is best developed; the 

 smell is fairly keen, but sight is rather 

 deficient. Prudence and vigilance are 

 its most prominent characteristics. The 

 slightest noise — the wind rustling in the 

 leaves, a falling leaf — suffices to excite 

 its attention and awaken it from sleep. 

 Dietrich Aus Dem Winckell says that 

 the greatest vice of the hare is its mal- 

 ice, not because it expresses it in biting 

 and scratching, but because it often 

 proves its disposition in the most re- 

 volting manner, the female by denying 

 her maternal love, and the male by his 

 cruelty to the little leverets. 



It is said that captive hares are easily 

 tamed, become readily used to all kmds 

 of nourishment usually fed to rabbits, 

 but are very delicate and apt to die. 

 If they are fed only on hay, bread, oats, 

 and water, and never anything green, 

 they live longer. A tame hare, in the 

 possession of Mr. Fuchs in Wilden- 



berg, which slept and ate with his dogs, 

 ate vegetable food only in default of 

 meat — veal, pork, liver, and sausage 

 causing it to go into such raptures that 

 it would execute a regular dance to get 

 at these dainties, 



Besides the flesh, which as food is 

 justly esteemed, the fur of the hare is 

 also put to account. The skin is deprived 

 of its hair, tanned and used in the man- 

 ufacture of shoes, of one kind of parch- 

 ment, and of glue; the hair is used in 

 the manufacture of felt. 



Mark Twain, in his " Roughing It," 

 gives this humorous and characteristic 

 description of the jack rabbit: 



"As the sun was going down, we saw 

 the first specimen of an animal known 

 familiarly over two thousand miles of 

 mountain and desert — from Kansas 

 clear to the Pacific ocean — as the 'jack- 

 ass-rabbit.' He is well named. He is 

 just like any other rabbit, except that 

 he is from one-third to twice as large, 

 has longer legs in proportion to his 

 size, and has the most preposterous 

 ears that ever were mounted on any 

 creature but a jackass. When he is 

 sitting quiet, thinking about his sins, or 

 is absent-minded, or unapprehensive of 

 danger, his majestic ears project above 

 him conspicuously; but the breaking 

 of a twig will scare him nearly to death, 

 and then he tilts his ears back gently, 

 and starts for home. All you can see 

 then, for the next minute, is his long 

 form stretched out straight, and 'streak- 

 ing it' through the low sage-bushes, 

 head erect, eyes right, and ears just 

 canted to the rear, but showing you 

 just where the animal is, just the same 

 as if he carried a jib. When he is 

 frightened clear through, he lays his 

 long ears down on his back, straightens 

 himself out like a yardstick every 

 spring he makes, and scatters miles be- 

 hind him with an easy indifference that 

 is enchanting. Our party made this 

 specimen 'hump himself.' I commenced 

 spitting at him with my weapon, and 

 all at the same instant let go with a 

 rattling crash. He frantically dropped 

 his ears, set up his tail, and left for 

 San Francisco at lightning speed. Long 

 after he was out of sight we could hear 

 him whiz." C. C. M. 



