GRAY RABBIT. 175 



pices and grassy spots in the neighbourhood of cultivation, remaining in 

 its form by day, concealed by a brush-heap, a tuft of grass, or some hedge- 

 row on the side of an old fence ; from which retreat it issues at night, to 

 regale itself on the clover, turnip, or corn-fields of the farmer. It not un- 

 frequently divests the young trees in the nurserj' of their bark ; it makes 

 frequent inroads upon the kitchen-garden, feasting on the young green 

 peas, lettuces, cabbages, &c., and doing a great deal of mischief; and 

 when it has once had an opportunity of tasting these dainties, it becomes 

 difRcult to prevent its making a nightly visit to them ; although the place 

 it enters at may be carefully closed, the Rabbit is sure to dig a fresh 

 hole everj' night in its immediate vicinity ; and snares, traps, or guns, 

 are the best auxiliaries in such cases, soon putting an end to farther depre- 

 dations. 



This animal, when first started, runs with greater swiftness, and makes 

 fewer doublings than the Northern hare, (L. Americanus ;) having ad- 

 vanced a hundred yards or more it stops to listen ; finding itself pursued 

 by dogs, should the woods be open and free from swamps or thickets, it 

 runs directly toward some hole in the root of a tree or hollow log. In 

 the lower parts of Carolina, where it finds protection in briar patches, 

 and places thickly overgrown \vith smilax and other vines, it continues 

 much longer on foot, and by winding and turning in places inaccessible 

 to larger animals, frequently makes its escape from its pursuers, without 

 the necessity of resorting for shelter to a hollow tree. 



The Gray Rabbit possesses the habit of all the other species of this 

 genus, with which we are acquainted, of stamping wth its hind feet on 

 the earth when alarmed at night, and when the males are engaged in 

 combat. It is also seen during the spring season, in wood-paths and 

 along the edges of fields, seeking food late in the mornings and early in 

 the afternoons, and during the breeding season even at mid-day : on such 

 occasions, it may be approached and shot with great ease. This species, 

 like all the true hares, has no note of recognition, and its voice is never 

 heard, except when wounded or at the moment of its capture, when it 

 utters a shrill, plaintive cry, like that of a young child in pain ; in the 

 Northern hare this cry is louder, shriller, and of longer continuance. 

 The common domesticated European rabbit seems more easily made to 

 cry out in this way than any other of the genus. 



Dr. Richardson, in his -work on the American quadrupeds, expresses an 

 opinion from a careful examination of many specimens in different State.s 

 that the change to the winter dress in the Northern hare, is effected not 

 by a shedding of its hair, but by a lengthening and blanching of the sum- 

 mer fur. Having watched the progress of this change, in the present 



