. Mammals of other lands;. Mammals. 142 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD when at Hampton Court Palace. The name, is often found surviving elsewhere. Near one of the large country English seats a walled park of 1,500 acres holds almost all the hares on the estate. If these parks and forest laws had not existed at an early date, it is probable that the hare would have become very scarce in this country. Hares produce their leverets about the middle of April, though in mild seasons they are born much earlier. The number of the litter is from two to five. They are placed in a small hollow scraped o
. Mammals of other lands;. Mammals. 142 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD when at Hampton Court Palace. The name, is often found surviving elsewhere. Near one of the large country English seats a walled park of 1,500 acres holds almost all the hares on the estate. If these parks and forest laws had not existed at an early date, it is probable that the hare would have become very scarce in this country. Hares produce their leverets about the middle of April, though in mild seasons they are born much earlier. The number of the litter is from two to five. They are placed in a small hollow scraped out by the doe hare, but not in a burrow of any kind. The instinct of concealment by remaining still is very highly developed in the hares and rabbits. They will often " squat" on the ground until picked up rather than take to flight. This seems almost a perverted instinct; yet hares often exhibit considerable courage and resource when escaping from their enemies. The following is an instance:—A hare was coursed by two. P*o(o by C. Reld WILD RABBITS young greyhounds on some marshes intersected by wide ditches of water. It first ran to the side of one of these ditches, and doubled at right angles on the brink. This caused the outer dog to lose its balance and to fall heavily into the deep and cold water. The hare then made straight for the line of walkers, and passed through them, with the other greyhound close behind it. The dog reached out and seized the hare by the fur of the back, throwing it down. The hare escaped, leaving a large patch of fur in the dog's jaws, doubled twice, and was again seized by the second dog, which had come up. It escaped from the jaws of the second pursuer, leapt two ditches 12 feet wide, and then sat for a moment behind a gate on a small bridge. This use of the only cover near caused the dogs to lose sight of it; they refused to jump the second drain,' and the hare escaped. The Rabbit is too well known to need description either of its h
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