﻿78 



Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



OPHIOGLOSSACE^}. 



897. Boytrychium TERNATUM, Swartz. — Mr. S. T. Carley furnishes 

 the following information regarding this species : The frond makes its ap- 

 pearance in July, and the fertile part soon matures; the sterile portion per- 

 sists till within a month of the time for the new frond to appear. In win- 

 ter it is copper red, and in the spring changes to the original green of the 

 young frond. 



CHARACEiE. 



899a. Chara coronata, Ziz. — This appeared in a tub of water-lilies 

 near Loveland. The interesting genus, of which there are many species in 

 the United States, has not been studied in our section. The canal basin 

 near the Work-house, Ross Lake and similar places, will probably yield 

 several species. 



NORTH AMERICAN LEPORIDJS. 

 » By Charles Dury. 



(Read and referred March 4, 1884). 



There are more species of true hares in the mammalian fauna of North 

 America, than in any other country in the world. Our twenty-two species 

 and varieties are pretty evenly distributed over the entire area of the coun- 

 try, from the Great Lakes to Florida, and from Maine to California. They 

 are commonly called "rabbits." But the fact is, we have no rabbit in- 

 digenous. All are true hares. The rabbits of this country are intro- 

 duced animals and are varieties of the European Lepus Cuniculus, which 

 differs from the hares in its shorter hind legs and other features of the 

 bony structure, as well as its different habits. In London, last summer, 

 in visiting some animal dealers' shops, I was amazed at the differences in 

 color and form of the domesticated rabbits offered for sale. There were 

 white, black, grey, ash, yellow, buff, and all sorts of combination of these 

 colors. In shape these were long, short, thick and thin. Some varieties 

 had the hair short and in others it was long and silky, but the most aston- 

 ishing freak of this artificial selection was the enormous lop-eared varie- 

 ties. Some of these exceeded the largest known hare in size, and with a 

 length of ear that would make our so-called "jackass rabbit " ashamed of 

 its accomplishments in this direction. The ash or buff-colored giants have 

 been brought from the little grey, short-eared Lepus Ounicu'us by 

 artificial selection, within a short period. Artificial selection has accom- 

 plished more with the domesticated races of the gentis Lepus than natural 



