82 
REMARKS ON THE GENUS LEPUS. 
ish brown, and tipt with white ; that of the present 
species is white at base and on the apical portion, 
and is only tinged in the middle with a narrow line 
of light brown. The summer color of the northern 
hare is reddish-brown above ; that of the prairie 
hare, according to Lewis and Clarke, is lead color. 
The whiskers, in the specimens we compared, were 
in the latter species nearly all white, whilst those 
in the northern hare were nearly all black. 
The fur on these three species, which interested 
us very much whilst engaged in comparing speci- 
mens, seemed perfectly adapted to the latitudes in 
which they are severally found to exist. That of 
the polar hare, which is found farthest north, was 
long, soft, and very dense, serving as a complete 
protection from the cold of the polar regions. That 
of the prairie hare, existing somewhat farther to the 
south, but still in a high northern latitude, was very 
compact, but shorter ; whilst that of the northern 
hare, which is found as far south as the mountains 
of Pennsylvania, was much looser and thinner, in- 
dicating that the animal required less protection 
against the cold than either of the other species. 
Mr. Townsend, in a private letter, remarks : — “I 
have frequently shot a hare on the Columbia river, 
both in summer and winter colors, but supposing it 
to be the old americanus, (northern hare,) I did not 
preserve a specimen.” I have very little doubt but 
this will prove to be the species referred to in this 
article. It would be well, however, to compare 
specimens of the white hare found on the western 
side of the Rocky Mountains, with those on the 
Columbia river. 
