THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
animals thus deformed adapt themselves to new conditions is marvellous. 
They not only continue to feed, but to live a long time after the injury, 
as shown by the ossified condition of the fracture when at length it comes 
to be examined. 
The different mode in which hares and rabbits feed is noteworthy. 
You may generally tell whether turnips have been nibbled by hares or 
rabbits by the difference in the mode of attacking the roots. A hare will 
bite off the peel and leave it on the ground; a rabbit will eat peel and all. 
A well-known Irish naturalist, Mr R. M. Barrington, has observed 
a marked difference also in the method pursued by a rabbit and a rat when 
eating a turnip. If the turnip is growing, and a portion of the bulb is still 
in the ground, a rat generally eats all round it and leaves the centre for 
the last, whereas a rabbit begins at one side and works right through 
to the other side. A rat will bite off the rind, as a hare does, and will leave 
it in chips on the ground; a rabbit, as just remarked, will eat peel and all. 
Rats very often will leave a turnip half eaten to go to another; but if they 
mean to consume the bulb they invariably finish in the middle. The top 
falls over at last with a truncated portion of the bulb attacked. 
When pointing out some of the most marked differences which exist 
between a rabbit and a hare, we alluded inter alia to that which exists in 
the relative length of the limbs, and this is correlated with the different 
mode of retreat adopted by the two species. A rabbit seeks safety by con- 
cealment in a burrow; a hare seeks safety in flight. Obviously the greater 
length of the hind legs in the latter animal gives greater power and speed, 
and this is especially noticeable when a hare is going up hill. The shorter 
limbs of the rabbit are useful in other ways, namely, for throwing out 
the soil behind it when burrowing, and for giving the alarm to its com- 
panions by thumping on the ground, and so attracting the attention of 
those within hearing. 
The advantage of having a white under -surface to the tail is also apparent 
on reflection; for when, on the approach of an intruder, while rabbits are 
out feeding, those nearest to him begin to scuttle away, the little white 
flag in motion at once attracts the attention of others, and all speedily 
make for their burrows. 
One of the most important differences between the rabbit and hare 
is the condition of the young at birth. In the case of the former the young 
are born underground, and are blind at birth; in the case of the latter they 
are deposited in a “ form ” on the surface of the ground, and are born with 
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