Dangerous Rabbit Holes. 249 
Long after leaving the bury it is as well to look 
to your footsteps, because of solitary rabbit-holes 
hidden by the grass growing up round and even over 
them. If the foot sinks unexpectedly into one of 
these, a sprained ankle or even a broken bone may 
result. Most holes have sand round the mouth, and 
may therefore be seen even in the dusk; but there 
are others also used which have no sand at the mouth, 
the grass growing at the very edge. Those that 
have sand have been excavated from without, from 
above ; those that have not, have been opened from 
below. The rabbit has pushed his way up from an 
old bury, so that the sand he dug fell down behind 
him into the larger hole. 
The same thing may be seen in banks, though 
then the holes worked from within are not so much 
concealed by grass. These holes are always very 
much smaller than the others, some so small that. 
one might doubt how a rabbit could force his body 
through them. The reason why the other tunnels 
appear so much larger is because the rabbit has no 
means of ‘shoring’ up his excavation with planks 
and timbers, and no ‘ cage’ with which to haul up the 
sand he has moved; so that he must make the 
mouth wider than is required for the passage of his. 
body, in order to get the stuff out behind him. He 
can really creep through a much smaller aperture. At 
night especially, when walking near a bury situate in 
the open field, beware of putting your foot into one of 
