248 POLAR HARE. 



Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, which is in the 58th parallel of latitude, but 

 remarks, that it may perhaps extend farther to the southward on the 

 elevated ridges of the Rocky Mountains, or on the Eastern coast, in Labra- 

 dor. We have ascertained that on the eastern coast of America it exists 

 at least ten and a half degrees south of the latitude assigned to it above ; 

 as we procured our specimen at Newfoundland, in latitude 47^°, where 

 it was quite common ; and we have been informed that it also exists in 

 the northern portions of Nova Scotia. To the north-east, it has found its 

 way across Baffin's Bay, and exists in Greenland. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



Although the Polar Hare was noticed at a very early period in the his- 

 tory of America, until recently it was considered identical with other 

 species that have since been ascertained to differ from it. The writer of 

 the History of Discoveries and Settlements of the English in America, 

 from the reign of Henry VII. to the close of that of Queen Elizabeth, 

 speaking of the animals at Churchill and Hudson's Bay (see Pinkerton, 

 Voy., vol. vii., p. 276) says " the hares grow white in winter, and recover 

 their colour in- spring; they have very large ears which are always 

 black ; their skins in winter are very pretty, of fine long hair which does 

 not fall ; so that they make very fine mufis." 



There can be no doubt that the Polar Hare was here alluded to. Pek- 

 NANT remarked that its size was greater than that of the varying hare, 

 with which it had so long been considered identical. Hearnb, who ob- 

 served it on our continent, and Fabkicius, who obtained it in Greenland, 

 regarded it as the varying hare. Leach, in 1814 (Zoological Miscellany) 

 characterized it as a new species. It was subsequently noticed by Sa- 

 bine, Franklin, and Richardson. As an evidence of how little was known 

 of our American hares until very recently, we would refer to the fact that 

 in the last general work on American quadrupeds by an American 

 author, published by Dr. Godman in 1826, only two hares were admitted 

 into our Fauna — Lepus Americanus, by which he referred to our gray 

 rabbit, and Lepus glacialis, which together with Lepus Virginianus of 

 Harlan, he felt disposed to refer to Lepus variabilis of Europe, leaving us 

 but one native species, and even to that applying a wrong name. We 

 hope in this work to be able to present our readers with at least fourteen 

 species of true hares, that exist in America north of the tropic of Cancer, 

 all peculiar to this country. 



In 1829 Dr. Richardson gave an excellent description, (Fauna Boreali 

 Americana, p. 221,) removing every doubt as to Lepus glacialis being a 



