Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/509

Rh as the varying hare, behind on the various mountain ranges, where by ascending to a sufficient altitude the -necessary boreal conditions could be obtained. The mountain hare differs from the preceding species in its ears being shorter than its head, and in its fur becoming in most cases white in winter, a change of colour which renders it almost invisible in the snow. Along the southern limit of its range, or in districts where the temperature is from any cause exceptionally mild, this change of colour either does not take place at all, as in Ireland, or is only partial, as in many parts of Scotland. In this respect it resembles the ermine, which it further resembles in having a part of its fur always remaining black ; in the hare, however, it is the tips of the ears, and not the point of the tail, which thus remain unaltered. In Scotland, where it is known as the &quot;blue hare,&quot; it occurs plentifully throughout the hilly regions north of the Forth, where it descends to the low grounds in winter ; while in Ireland it is the only hare found. Owing to the mildness of the climate, however, in the &quot; Green Isle,&quot; the colour of the fur undergoes little or no alteration in winter, and on this account it was until recently regarded by many as a distinct species (Lepus Idbermcv.s). Throughout the Arctic regions of North America a closely allied species, the polar hare (Lepus glacial-is), occurs. Naturalists have hitherto had consider able difficulty in distinguishing this from the preceding species, the chief difference being in the colour of the fur, which in the Polar hare is white all the year round, with the exception of the tips of the ears. Considerable light has, however, been thrown on this point by the observations of the naturalists attached to the late Arctic Expedition under Sir George Nares, who found this species inhabiting the shores of Grinnell Land, and obtained evidence in foot prints on the snow of its existence in latitude 83 10, about 20 miles north of the nearest land. Unlike all other hares, mid resembling in this respect the rabbit, the polar hare would seem to occupy a burrow &quot; a hole,&quot; says Captain Feilden, &quot; 4 feet in length, scraped horizontally into a snow drift.&quot; &quot;I have no doubt,&quot; he continues, &quot;the same burrow is regularly occupied, as this one was discoloured by the feet of the animal, and a quantity of hair was sticking to the sides.&quot; Another point of importance in establishing the specific distinctness of this species from -the former lies in the difference in the number of young composing a brood in each of these species. The number of young found in gravid females by the naturalists already referred to varied from seven to eight, while in the varying hare of Europe the number does not exceed five. According to Captain Lyon, the polar hare is by no means a shy animal, as during his cruise in the Arctic seas hares were in the habit of coming out on the ice to his ships to feed on the tea leaves which were thrown overboard. This species has thus been found inhabiting the highest northern lands yet visited by man, where it also attains its normal weight of from 8 to 10 ft)., subsisting on the stoneworts and other hardy plants which form the scanty vegetation of circumpolar valleys. The American varying hare (Lepus americanus) is one of the most widely distributed species of this family, extending, in one or other of its four geographical varieties, from the borders of the Arctic barren grounds south wards to New Mexico. It differs from the mountain hare of Europe in its smaller size and relatively smaller ears, but resembles it in the change of colour in the fur, especially of the northern varieties, during winter. It is exceedingly abundant on the banks of the Mackenzie River, where it is killed in great numbers by the Hare Indians. A favourite device among the Indians for catching it, according to Darwin, is to walk spirally round and round it, when on its form, especially at midday when the shadow of the hunter is shortest. It has still more implacable enemies, however, in the wolves, gluttons, and lynxes of those regions, of the last of which it is said to form the principal food. The fur of this species is imported into Great Britain, but it is of little value. In the swampy district of the south-eastern portion of the United States, the swamp hare (Lepus aqiiaticus) and the marsh hare (Lepus palustris) occur. These take readily to the water, and are said to dive for some distance, their legs being less thickly clothed with hair than are those of the less amphibious species. They feed chiefly on aquatic plants. Only one species of hare (Lepus brasili- ensis) occurs in South America. It is found throughout Brazil, and on various parts of the Andes in Bolivia and Peru. Fossil remains of several species of Leporidce have been found in the Post-Glacial deposits and the bone-caves of Europe, while the remains of many extinct species have been lately discovered in the Miocene deposits of Dakota and Colorado.  {{ti|1em|{{larger|HARE}}, {{sc|Julius Charles}} (1795{{ndash}}1855), theological writer, was born at Valdagno, near Yicenza, in Italy, on the 13th of September 1795. He came to England with his parents in 1798, but in 1804-5 spent a winter with them at Weimar, where he met Goethe and Schiller, and received a bias to German literature which influenced his style and sentiments throughout his whole career. On the death of his mother in 1806, Julius was sent home to the Char terhouse in London, where he remained till 1812, when he entered Trinity College, Cambridge. There he became fellow in 1818, and after some time spent abroad he began to read law in London in the following year. In 1822 he was appointed assistant-tutor at Trinity College, which position he retained for ten years. Turning his attention from law to divinity, Hare took priest s orders in 1826 ; and, on the death of his uncle in 1832, he succeeded to the rich family living of Hurstmonceaux in Sussex, where he accumulated a library of some 12,000 volumes, especially rich in German literature. Before taking up residence on his parish he once more went abroad, and made in Rome the acquaintance of the Chevalier Bunsen, who afterwards dedicated to him part of his work, Ilippolytus and his Age. In 1840 Hare was appointed archdeacon of Lewes, and in the same year preached a course of sermons at Cambridge (The Victory of Faith}, followed in 1846 by a second, The Mission of the Comforter. Neither series when published attained any great popularity. Archdeacon Hare married in 1844. In 1851 he was collated to a prebend in Chichester; and in 1853 he became one of the queen s chaplains. He died January 23, 1855. }}

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