Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/471

 HARE 457 Europe, Asia, and Africa. Among the Ameri- can species which grow white in the winter is the polar hare (L. glacialis, Leach), the largest of the family, exceeding a large cat; it mea- sures about 2 ft. to the root of the tail, the lat- ter being about 3 in., and the ears about 4 in. The color in winter is pure white, with the ears black-tipped before and behind, and the soles dirty yellowish white; in summer it is light brownish gray above, varied with black, imp and upper surface of tail dark plumbeous, i glossy black with whitish posterior mar- and below whitish with a sooty tinge ; the sad is arched and wide, the ears broad, the short and hardly perceptible amid the ise hair ; the fur is soft, fine, and full. This ich resembles the European L. variabilis, . is distinguished chiefly by greater blackness the ears ; it is found in arctic America, and far south as Newfoundland, in the most late and sterile regions ; it feeds on berries rk, twigs, and evergreen leaves ; it is not very r, though difficult to take in its favorite >wy localities; its range probably extends Greenland to Behring strait. Indians, >pers, and arctic travellers have often been ived from starvation by this animal. Its eyes adapted for the twilight and auroral light the polar countries, which, with the bright- of the pure snow, are always sufficient its needs ; its flesh is said to be deli- >us. From the shortness of the arctic sum- this species produces young but once a r, from three to six at a birth ; the fur is )fter than the finest wool ; its summer pelage is not last more than three or four months, e weight, in good condition, is from 10 to Ibs. The northern hare, sometimes called rhite rabbit (L. Americanus, Erxl.), is a little mailer than the last ; the color in winter is rhitish, but the hairs at the root are gray and Northern Hare (Lepus Americanus). pale yellow in the middle ; in summer the gen- eral hue is reddish brown, pencilled with black above, and the under parts white, very much like that of the European hare. It is found in the eastern portions of America from Virginia far north as lat. 68 ; its favorite haunts are thick woods, where it is hunted with dif- ficulty by dogs; its food consists of grasses, bark, leaves, young twigs, buds, and berries, and, in a domesticated state, of vegetables and fruits. This is the swiftest of the Ameri- can species, and has been known to clear 21 ft. at a single leap; like other hares and rab- bits, it is in the habit of beating the ground with the tarsi, when alarmed or enraged; it is fond of pursuing a beaten path in the woods, and is often snared in such places. Its flesh is not much esteemed. Its enemies, besides man and dogs, are the lynx and other car- nivorous mammals, hawks, owls, and even the domestic cat. It is more fierce than the rab- bit, and will bite and scratch severely. The skin is very tender, and the fur little valued by furriers ; the hind feet are used by the hatter in finishing his fabrics. The swamp hare {L. aquaticus, Bach.) is as large as the northern species, with long ears and tail ; dark grayish brown above and white below ; it is strong and swift ; the fur is coarse and glossy ; the feet are not densely clothed with hair, but the toes are slender, with small pads, pointed, and with visible claws. This species prefers low marshy places, in the vicinity of water, to which it is fond of resorting ; it is an excellent swimmer, subsisting chiefly on the roots of the iris and other aquatic plants ; when started, it suddenly leaps from its form, and makes for the nearest water, seemingly conscious that in that element all traces of its scent will be soon lost ; it is fond of hiding beneath the roots of trees over- hanging the water, in hollows under river banks, and in decayed trees. It is most abun- dant in the swampy tracts bordering on the Mississippi and its tributaries in the south- western states; it has not been seen E. or N. of Alabama, according to Bachman. The marsh hare (Z. palustris, Bach.) is smaller than the rabbit, with short ears and tail ; the legs are short and the feet are thinly clothed with hair ; the general color above is yellowish brown, beneath gray ; the eyes are remarkably small. It is found in the maritime districts of the southern states, especially in the neighbor- hood of rice fields. It is an excellent swimmer, and is perfectly at home in the miry pool and boggy swamp ; it runs low on the ground, and is rather slow and clumsy in its motions. Its flesh is considered superior to that of the gray rabbit. Like other species of the genus, it is infested in the summer and autumn with the larvas of an cestrus, which penetrate the flesh and keep the animal lean from constant irri- tation. Its food consists principally of roots, bulbs, and twigs of plants growing in marshes. It breeds several times a year, having from five to seven at a birth ; the young are placed in a kind of nest, made of rushes and lined with hair. Several other species of hare are de- scribed by Waterhouse and Baird. HARE. I. Julias Charles, an English clergy- man, born at Herstmonceaux, Sussex, in 1796, died there, Jan. 23, 1855. He was a son of