THE COMMON HARE 
as distinct. Bell, who published the first edition of his “ British Quadru- 
peds ” in 1837, adopted this opinion, and accorded specific rank to the 
Irish Hare under the name Lepus hibernicus. One of the arguments in 
support of its separation from the Scottish hare was that it did not, like the 
latter, turn white in winter. Unfortunately for the case, this proved to be 
untrue, and while it was admitted that the Irish hare differs from its 
English relative in having a more rounded head, shorter ears, shorter hind 
limbs, and softer or more woolly fur, it had to be conceded that in these 
particulars it sufficiently resembles the Scottish hare, and differed only in 
such details, e.g. change of colour in winter, as might be due to the milder 
climate of Ireland, and the somewhat different conditions under which it 
had to live. Accordingly, when Bell in 1874 brought out the second edition 
of his “ Quadrupeds,” in which he wasassistedby two very good naturalists, 
R. F. Tomes and E. R. Alston, the joint conclusion was reached that his 
Lepus hibernicus was not a good species, and it was accordingly deprived 
of specific rank in the new edition. At page 340 we read: “ The Irish hare 
was described by our late friend Mr. Yarrell in the ‘ Proceedings of the 
Zoological Society ’ for 1833, under the name of L. hibernicus^ and was 
treated of under that name in our first edition; our original illustration of 
the head of this form is repeated beneath. Its identity with Lepus variabilis 
(the Scottish hare), which was first pointed out by Blasius in 1841, is now 
fully established, and the comparative uniformity of its summer and 
winter tints must be attributed solely to the mildness of the Irish climate.” 
This conclusion is strengthened by the fact, not then realized by Bell, that 
the Irish hare does turn white in winter, although (for the reason stated) not 
so fully or completely as does the mountain hare. This view having been 
shared by continental readers of Blasius ’s work since 1841, and adopted 
by English readers of Bell’s second edition since the date of its publication 
in 1874, it is difficult to understand what advantage is to be gained after 
such a lapse of time by reviving the controversy, restoring the discarded 
name hibernicus^ transferring the name timidus from the brown hare 
to the mountain hare, and placing the two species in different groups 
{Eulagos and Lepus). Yet this is what we are expected to agree to if we 
accept the views of Major Barrett Hamilton as set forth in his new work 
on British mammals. Briefly speaking, he would have us recognize our 
common brown hare as Lepus europceus instead of timidus, the Scottish 
or mountain hare as Lepus timidus instead of variabilis and the Irish hare 
as Lepus hibernicus. Indeed, he would have us go further than this, for he 
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