SMALL FOLK WITH LIVELY FEET. 



263 



His greater relative who lives in the North, 

 more particularly among the mountains, is called the 

 American varying hare {Lej>us amerl- 

 canus virginianus). This animal is 

 remarkable for his change of 

 color; in summer he is a 

 dark-red brown, and in 

 winter he is perfectly 

 white. Regarding the 

 nature of this change •••= 

 I must repeat in sub- ■" 



Northern Varying Hare ; summer coat. 



stance the opinions ex- 

 pressed by Dr. Merriam and Prof. J. A. Allen. 

 Dr. Merriam says that when the change occurs 

 in the fall, the fur lengthens and 

 S^^^'SriS^ blanches, the individual hairs 

 changing color after the 

 first fall of 

 snow. Like 

 a majority of 

 the mammals, 

 this hare has two ^ T^H^ rc^f^ kinds of fur : an 

 under and soft kind -.J-^'^wA • which covers all 

 parts of the body, and "^s^^ an upper, longer 

 and stiffer kind which is scattered through 



it. This last, which is blackish in summer, becomes 

 in the fall white at the tips first, and fades down- 



