. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 148 NATURAL ElSTUJtr. round : he says that in mild winters young Hares liave been found in January, and that he hiis known breeding continue till the middle of November. When captured young, the Hare may be easily tamed, and become an amusing jiet, as, indeed, will be familiar to almost every one, through Cowper's account of his Hares. Formerly the Hare used to be trained by jugglers to perform various tricks, one of wliich was the beating of a tambourine with its fore-feet, with which the animal will of its own accord drum upon the back o
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. 148 NATURAL ElSTUJtr. round : he says that in mild winters young Hares liave been found in January, and that he hiis known breeding continue till the middle of November. When captured young, the Hare may be easily tamed, and become an amusing jiet, as, indeed, will be familiar to almost every one, through Cowper's account of his Hares. Formerly the Hare used to be trained by jugglers to perform various tricks, one of wliich was the beating of a tambourine with its fore-feet, with which the animal will of its own accord drum upon the back of an offending companion. A relic of this practice is to be recognised in a common toy, which shows a small Hare sitting and beating a tambourine, its fore limbs being set in motion by the turning of the wheels of its stand. The Common Hare is found spread over the greater part of Europe, from the south of Sweden and northern Russia to the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It does not occur in Ireland. It varies somewhat in colour in different localities, and although it does not become white in winter, the northern forms show a tendency in that direction, and the others acquire a greyish tint at the approach of the cold weather. The Rabbit, or Cony {Lejms cuniculus), differs from the Hare in various characters; its colour is a tawny brownish-grey, the dispi'oportion between the fore and hind limbs is not so great, and the ears are shorter, not exceeding the head in length. Although the Wild Rabbit is so plentiful in England as to become a pest to the farmers in many places, it is supposed not to be a native of north- western and central Europe, but to have been naturalised in Britain, its original home being in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is, and always was, very abundant in Spain, the name of which country (Hispania) has been supposed to mean the "country of Conies," from the Phoenician and Hebrew woi-d Schaphan, the name of the Hyrax or Cony of the
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