I70 LEPORIDyE 



the same ground in going to their feeding-places, so that 

 the herbage over which they pass becomes worn down and a 

 recognisable path or run is formed. The characteristic of 

 these runs is their unevenness. The animals proceed by a 

 series of leaps, and, if undisturbed, not only do they use 

 particular tracks, but they generally make a leap of about 

 the same length at the same place. The result is that the 

 ground where they alight is worn bare, while the herbage has 

 an opportunity of growing at the intermediate places which 

 they leap over in their stride. It follows that the pace at 

 which the animals are accustomed to travel at any one part of 

 their runs can be calculated without difficulty by observation 

 of the distance between the worn patches, and this knowledge 

 is very extensively utilised by trappers and snarers. 



Hares and rabbits all over the world seem to be subject to 

 epidemics, the exact nature of which is not necessarily similar 

 in different regions. In North America the various species 

 seem to go through a regular routine. First they become 

 excessively abundant, so that the numbers of Lepus americanus 

 have been estimated by Thompson Seton (i., 640), at ten 

 thousand to the square mile ; then a fatal disease breaks out, 

 and within two years or so they almost totally disappear from 

 vast areas. During the continuance of an epidemic fertility 

 decreases, and fewer young are born. But, as soon as it has 

 worn itself out, there is a "periodic" increase, and females 

 may produce as many as six, eight, or even ten at a birth 

 (Nelson, jV(7rM Amer. Fauna, No. 29, 1909, 23-24; see also 

 Preble, op. cit., No. 27). Similarly, in Britain, overstocking of 

 ground usually leads to an outbreak of disease, which is for 

 a time very fatal, but not of long duration. 



As compared with some other British mammals, shrews for 

 instance, the rabbits are very recuperative and hardy and do 

 not succumb easily to injuries, such as the loss of a leg; 

 but hares die readily from shot wounds, or if even slightly 

 bruised on the loins, or if run hard. 



When the food is succulent the flesh, although varying 

 much in the different genera, is generally excellent eating, but 

 it is of poor quality when, as in arctic regions, the animals 

 subsist only on rough herbage or the bark of trees. 



