is far more gregarious than larger spe- 

 cies of hares, and it is not uncommon 

 to find a number of these rabbits asso- 

 ciating together in some thicket or briar- 

 patch. It resembles other species of 

 hares in the habit of often remaining 

 motionless when aware that it is being 

 watched. At such times the Rabbit may 

 be approached until one is nearly able to 

 touch it with the hand when, with 

 remarkable speed it suddenly bounds 

 away. 



The Gray Rabbit is exceedingly pro- 

 lific. The number of young at a birth 

 usually varies from four to six and as 

 many as eleven have been found in a 

 single nest. There may be three or four 



broods in a single season. The mother 

 rabbit makes a nest of leaves and grasses, 

 which she lines with fur from her own 

 body. In this soft bed the young are 

 carefully covered when the parent is 

 absent. The young, however, are left 

 to take care of themselves very early 

 in their lives, and it is not uncom- 

 mon to meet one of these little 

 fellows in one's rambles through 

 ferns and shrubbery. They are pretty 

 little chaps ''with their great black eyes 

 and absurd looking triangular mouths, 

 forever in motion, as if repeating over 

 and over to themselves some lesson which 

 they fear they may forget." 



SONG OF SOWING. 



The furrow lies brown in the wake of the plough. 



And the overturned sod is sweet — 

 And the sower sings as the seed he flings, 

 And his strain keeps time, as his right arm swings 



To and fro in a rhythmic beat. 



His song is a prayer that the wind and the rain, 



And their kinsman, the kindly sun, 

 Keep a balance fine, betwixt shade and shine, 

 In the mystic sequence of growth divine 



With the work of his hands begun ! 



His song is a dream of the season to be — 



From the blade, to the waving June, 

 Till the fields unfold into autumn gold 

 That shall crown his toil with a wealth untold, 



In the height of the harvest-moon ! 



— Edith Hope Kinney. 



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