THE EAjaa. 



Lare's, and is thickly covered with, fur even to the tip of the 

 nose. It ig an inhabitant of the south-east parts of Snssia, 

 and is an animal of so soUtary a nature as to be seldom seen 

 even in places most frequented by it. They burrow, and th<» 

 mouth of their den is little more than two inches in diametei. 

 The voice of the Cape hare is said to resemble the piping of a 

 qnail, but is so loud as to be heard at the distance of half a 

 mile. Both the male and female emit this note, but the latter 

 is silent for some time after she has given birth (in May) to her 

 young, which are bom naked and blind, and are carefully 

 attended to by the mother, who covers them up warm with thq 

 cosy materials of her nest. 



The Cape Leaping hare, or Spring hare, or Jumping hare, 

 is certainly mora like a kangaroo than what we are accustomed 

 to think should be a hare's shape. It is a native of Southern 

 Africa ; the hinder legs are very long, and the fore-legs remark- 

 ably short ; the tail, which is thickly covered with bristly 

 hairs, is as long as its body. The fore-legs have each five 

 toes armed with strong claws, by means of which the animal 

 digs its burrow. The hinder feet are famished with four claws, 

 less heavy than those on the anterior toes, but sharper. Its 

 leaping powers are prodigious ; it will clear from twenty to 

 thirty feet at a jump, and keep this up for a considerable time.j 

 It resembles our hare in the shape of the head (except that the 

 ears are shorter) and in the texture of the fur. It is of nocturnal 

 habits, .xaU \2 seldom seen abroad. " The natives," says a 

 naturalist, '• >viiO set some value on the flesh, take advantage] 

 of this habit, and being sure of finding the Spring hare at home 

 during the daytime, take their measures accordingly. Placing 

 a sentinel at the mouth of the burrow, they fdrce the inmate to 

 evacuate the premises by pouring a deluge of water into the 

 hole, and as it rushes into the open air it is seized or struck 

 down by the ready hand of the sentinel." 



To return, however, to Lepus fmrnd/us, the common English 

 hare. "Why a " Home Pet ? " One has heard of frogs 

 responding to a friendly whistle ; of " death-watches " cheer- 

 fnlly responding to the tap of an acquaintance at the wainscotj 

 behind which they reside ; of poisonous serpents reposing 

 peaceably in the bosom of an Indian family ; but whenever was 

 the shy, nervous, solitude-loving hare known to afford to a 

 home delight in any other shape but jugged or roasted ? My 

 dear reader, you have only to try your hand with a very young 

 leveret, and you wiU possibly alter your opinion. You may 



