Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1862-05-02
Fo' The o>fosd ps~ocra'.
WILD ANIMALS Of MAINE.
BY J. q. Rich.
NORTHERN HARE. OR RNBriT---
q. Lepu. yuigaris."l

inal in cur good stats OF Maine, although 'h
ths neishboring State Of Massachusetts there
exist. distinct ,ari-iy-heing much small
or than the Kind We are here to treat upon.
and having quite j,G. habits
Authors Of Natural History. IN several
i,.,.rc-.. canfound the RABBIT aud liarr
and although resembling each other exactly
TO the common observer. vet there exists a
distinct difference, especially in the young
le,srst
In the sr.t place. lst me here observe ,ha,
in no instance has tie Orator shown He
care and provision Tor animal nature more
sonspleuou.ly than hy providing 50 boun,i
fully thi. species Of animal. They co er The
earth 10 the foil extent OF it. carab'l'iy OF
support Tor them are extensive breeders,
more than any other. and have no weapon
Of defence except sish,,-and on which de-
peud for .ustenancc. IN q gre,, measure, the
bear. lynI. toI. 6.hsr. mink. we'-'l' cr'
mins. among the animal trib-, and owls
hawks. eagles, aud many other among the
birt..-in fact. it may truly b-.'id the raa-
bi, d. the substantial food Of a large class OF
animal nature.
Our hare is about two feet from the nose
70 the hipd feet, short head. iull eye. reed
ing forehead, large, open, long ears, short
t.il. long hind leg with -four toes. and short
foruart leg. With Eve toe ieet we'll cover
ei With coarse hair. making good brush,
when dry, for many parpo-e-; loose long
hair on The body. Away. white under the
body. and IN winter white all over bat IN
summer. Of ysllosi.h brown. VARYING TO a
rufou. brown. Next u the body is a .on
ioo-e fur. Of silky texture, " a lead color
90 the back, and ~h,ch fur, think, keeps
il, eon.tan, color. and only the long hair on
the upper part. OF 1t, body changes color.
The weigh, Of this animal i' from five to
seven pounds and 50 CONSTANTLY out OF eon'
dition, that III. prOvsrbial among hunters.
when visited BY our young city 'Por''men'
TO enlarge upon the great and excellent
qualities ot shaving sap made oi rabbits
grease 4" aud - ce,iAr ashes. ="
The meat oi the hare - quite aavorless
and ligh, coIOrcd. and depends much upon
the condiments in dressing for 1t. saVory
t.s,e.-~hat epicurr- think TO the contrary.
pO,with.randins. STILL 1t !. no, void OF a
good share Of nutrition. and make. very
simple Diet Tor invalids. Indeed. | have not
uufrrquruily teen obliged - resort To this
sort Of food entirely, after getting short OF
provisions. in many hunting tour IN the
wilderness and we can almost AlsAys sale
!, I,pebd upon taking by trap. snare, or
gun, .lfci-n, soPPly Of hare 'enison al
nO-t .ny~ here in our forest. Of Maine.
The female hare j. capable Of bearing
youp: before they are one year old.-.ay
,hoss born IN August and SEPTEMBER multi
ply The followins .pnng; anu in ,hi. State.
Ian of opinion that they quite regularly
have two liiiers each season Of from three TO
Eve each.
They DO 10, borough AZ some Of the genus
Do, bat maksa nest under brush heap or
the thick foliage Of small tree, Of leaves
and soft moss. They 20 With young about
Eve weeks. and nurse them Tor three weeks.
when they gradually leave the original nsst
and mother and take care Of themselves. !
have often picked them up in the woods,
and When YOU find one you may be almost
sure the r.-i Of the family are within ten
rods Of you. They are born with good
dress Of brown hair. and eyes open, ami
teeth vel cut through and what !. quite
rseulir n ihi. animal BY a curious lorna
nation OF their gcaiIA!. are often found to
have suPerle,atiou.
The food OF our hare !. chiefly browse OF
email and tender bushes. and they especially
love the buds OF yellow birch. have often
bal,ed up a ssore Of them in iso nights ~
ehoppins dO.n birch tree. and limbiug it
down. and among the branshe. seitin, toy
traps.
Hunter. depend almost entirely on the
hare and mu.kra, ior bait for their traps to
take larger game.
have nouced that the higher up among
the mouOtain. 90 the larger are the hare,
and | have 90 doab, that the atmosphere
and even the sal have grea, influence on the
native animals.
The noise OF the hair when frightened or
hur, /. a high note. Gu, .hor, a, very fire.
susn, intervals. and the voice kept up. and
very .hrill and very plain,ive, soOndin. like
fling mill saw. They also have a peculiar
gruu,ing noiss ,hs, !. u-ed when near each
other. and 10 their families TO make known
their wishes TO each other. They al.o stamp
with their feet like ,Ae domestic sheep; and
often resemble. when jumping around the
camp. the step Of g heavy animal.
hare often had them come into nv
open camp, when I bad nicely bivousehed
for the night, and. in several instane~.,
JUMP upon my body, causing a sudden
fr'gh, aud leap which .-ut Master Fatty"
(a' be i' isniI,arly called,) away in hur.
~. They are sl~ays attracted by q camp
Gre in the night, and We can slwsv-, OF a
clear nighi. -hOo, them by keeping awake
altar all 70 quiet.