The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-07
HARE, MISCALLED RABBIT.
INTERESTING THINGS TOLD OF
THE NTMBLE CoTTONTdIL.
Ne Never Closes His Ewes when He Sleeps.
Hears Different Thing vita Each Ear.

There are many curious things about our
common, every day. fleet little gray rabbit that
few people outside OF rabbit-hunting localities
know anything about" said an observant
sportsman who lives where this popular game
IL plentiful. "one thing that they don't know
is that the animal we call rabbit isn't rabbit
atall. There Is no such thing a. wild rabbit
in this country. Even the Jackrabbit isn't one.
The shy, ay-coated little fellow that we all
know Is hare. There is big difference be-
tween hare and rabbit. Tho rabbit burrows
In the ground, and the burrow is Its home and
refuge. The hare doesn't burrow. II fashions
itself a cosey nest in the long, wild grass, or
among sheltering punches OF flexible weeds, or
beneath some protecting bush.
| THE hare's nest Is known as It's FORM
| Sometimes the hare makes It's home In old
| brush piles. II II had to live in n burrow It's
days would be days Of pain and trouble, for the
hare Is born with Its eyes open, and they always
remain open, sleeping or waking. The hare
can't shut Its eyes, because It has no eyelids, so
1t has TO sleep with them open II Il had to live
in a burrow It would be most Of the time en-
gagged in trying 10 get the dirt out its eyes and
would be most miserable creature. The
| young hare Is nursed by its mother just twenty
days. and then she turns the youngster out to
care for itself 1t is born with full coat OF fur.
| Rabbits, living In burrows, are born blind,
and are rs bare of covering as newly Matched
birds. They require their mothers care for ak
| weeks before they are strong enough to look out
| for themselves. The reason the rabbit lives In n
| deep and intricate underground habitaton, from
which 1t rarely goes any distance, is that the
| rabbit Is comparatively slow OF motion. and a
| dog or fox would soon run 1t down IL IL had to
| depend on Its speed and bottom for its safety.
But the hare Is swift and long -wlnded. and II II
| were as sensible as It Ia fast II would have no
| difficulty In getting away from anything that
| pursued 1t, except a charge OF powder and shot.
Tho ears of the hare are capable of more
varied motion and are more sensitive to sound
than those Of almost any other animal. The
hare can hear sound not only great way off,
but can hear in one direction with one ear while
the other is listening for indications of danger
in another direction. IL is not uncommon
sight to see one of these vgilant little chaps
standing erect on its hind legs, with one long
ear turned well back over its shoulder and the
other one pushed forward toward its nose. The
hare Is listening In both directions, and
II presently 1t goes scooting OFF across
country with those amazing leaps the
hare alone can make. bunny has heard
danger approaching from one quarter
or the other, or perhaps from both, and is taking
the best way to get away from IL. The hare has
another physical accomplishment that Is at
times very useful. Its eyes arranged that
although lmmovable, like an owls. IT can see
what is behind just as well what is before,
without the trouble of turning the head.
The hare Is always lean, the rabbit always
fat. The hare lives in perpetual apprehension OF
danger. as any one may see by the hunted look
eye That keeps him lean. although his appe-
title. as farmers and gardners know to their sor-
ness OF the hare enables him TO get more speed
out of his long legs than he could command
for him, as the fox and the hound are ever looK-
"On the contrary the rabbit never worries.
All the rabbit has To do when danger threatens
Il to tumble its plump body into its intricate
underground refuge, and II Is safe, or 1t thinks
IL is, and that serves the rabbits piece OF mind
The fox is no match for the little gray hare
in speed. The hare is 20 much faster than the
fox that he could give It half mile start In
two-miie race and win in a canter; But all the
course, the hare would be caught while the for
trouble with the hare, is that his timidty is
greater than his tact; He will start away with
he wears himself out 50 long as he may hear the
hounds on his track. The crafty fox isn't made
hounds press him too close. Then he puts on
more steam and increases or decreases tho
she hare viii @ And sS
nard well In the lead and comparatively fresh.
cunning in many ways The moment he is
started started by the dogs he viii make for ri,ng
Soil thai has moisture in it. He breaks FOR an
uphill run for the reason that his hind legs be-
ing so much longer than MS fore legs, he
command a leverage from them In going up |
the. rise that enables him to maintain |
his speed with ease. whereas the dogs
having no such advantage. necessarily are ham |
pered In their run on ascending ground. The |
hare can 20 up hill much faster than he can 80 |
down. Just because he does not use the force of |
his hind legs on descent or |; would throw him |
heels over head. while "a down hill run is advsn-
the run up Hill is the better he likes IL, The |
feet covered with thick stockings Of fur
which stick TO the yielding soil or moist surface |
padding OF the dogs feet enables the pursuer
F Gssh "a .S, he saFs SSs be m sse
be dry; A ths same same, time he can swim like
stream il one happen 10 lie in his way When m fy
Ing before d1ga or fox; but he doesn't know
enough enc to seek Ior water to throw his enemy or
The hare has many strategic tricks He will
stone walls and %W shhs }oT oG on 3hs top OF
and even force fresh hare from its form 10 go
on with the race, following the new starter
some bush or brush pile, while the dogs keen on
after the fresh hare; but as rule the silly little
cottontail Twill persist In doubling again and
In his undoing.
when pressed is simply astounding. | have
measured leaps In the the hare having
clear. and there is good authority for a hare's
leap that covered IS feet. He takes advantage
probable pursuing enemy " on his sc eTG" snS
never goes home In u direct line. lie passes 70
one side of his nest and stops opposite 10 II at
the greatest distance that he can cover at a
leap. Then he squats, doubling his flexible
backbone into an animate spiral spring. and his
stout, long hind legs snap out like a catapult
lie jumps high In the air, and Judges OF space
So nicely that he never fails 20 alight sQuarely
on or near his well concealed form.
shall never forget how came 10 discover
this trick OF the hare, One winter, for some
reason, the little cottontatls very scarce in
Pike county. IL seemed that there were not
enough left 70 make a decent tracking on the
snow. One day, much to my delight, / came
onto track that led from laurel patch. in a
fresh falling OF snow, toward an old clearing,
more than "A mile away. | followed II. and II |
took me in a circuitous course that made the
distance TO the clearing, nearly three miles. II
went over a stone wall and into what had
Ten feet from tine wall tho track came
70 an end as suddenly as IL the lit
taken up In a whirlwind aud carried away.
There yasn,t another mark on the snow in all