"Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; And each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porcupine."-SHAKSPERE. 381. Why are beaver hats commonly called "castors?" Because they are made from the fur of the beaver, the animal, in zoological nomenclature, being called the castor fiber, from the Greek name castor, and the Latin fiber, because it inhabits the edges of the water. 382. Why has the coypou, though identical with the beaver in many of its habits, a dissimilar tail? It has already been explained that the broad flat tail of the beaver, as well as being used as a rudder, is employed by the animal in the construction of dams and houses. Now, the coypou differs from the beaver in this respect, that it never builds, but burrows; nor does it construct dams. For a burrowing animal, the only of no utility, but a positive organ is modified to the uses of broad flat tail would be not incumbrance, and hence the the creature. 383. Why is the porcupine covered with such formidable quills? As in the case of the hedge-hog, the spines of the porcupine are weapons of defence, the animal having the same power of rolling itself into the form of a ball. Why the spines of the hedge-hog should be so short, and those of the porcupine so long, may find explanation in the fact that the latter, being a native of Africa, India, and the Indian Islands, is exposed to the attacks of far more formidable enemies than such as the cat, the weasel, the ferret, and the martin, by which the hedge-hog is attacked. The porcupine is so called from porcus (a pig), and spinis (prickles or thorns). "Well-one at least is safe. Our shelter'd hare Of cruel man exulting in her woes."-CowPER. 384. Why do hares when pursued generally make for rising ground? Because the length of their hind legs, as compared with their front ones, gives them a great advantage in ascending an inclined surface. 385. Why do hares run down hill in a zig-zag course? Because the length of their hind legs, which gives them an advantage over their pursuers in ascending a hill, is a disadvantage to them when descending. They therefore modify the line of descent by making a series of diagonal runs. 386. Hares are remarkable for their extreme timidity; but their inability to save themselves from the attacks of their enemies has been in some degree compensated by their endowments for speed. When they run, their motions consist of a series of leaps more or less extended according to the speed with which they move. Indeed, the animals of this genus make a near approach in their general form, their gait when walking, and their mode of life, to the kanguroos. The length and strength of their hind legs very much exceeds that of their front; they are further assisted by the extreme flexibility of their spines, which enables them to bring the hind feet even before the front, and thereby throw the body forward with a much stronger and greater spring. To give an idea of the prodigious leaps they make, it may be here mentioned that a hare has been known to pass over a space of twenty-five feet at a single bound. This structure, though well adapted for moving on a level surface, and much more for going up a hill, is disadvantageous for descent; and, consequently, if a hare descend a steep place at speed, she may be noticed rolling over and over frequently before she reaches the bottom.* 387. Why is the hare unable to run well upon fallows and wet soils? Because hares are unprovided with the smooth elastic padding which covers the soles of the feet of dogs and other quadrupeds, they are hairy-footed, which renders them ill-adapted for speed upon wet and adhesive soils. When left to choose their own track, they always select a dry one for treading on; and it is plain that their hairy socks admirably adapt their feet to resist the ill effects of pressure from the rough surfaces they must pass over by this preference. "Encyclopædia Metropolitana.” "The hare, Tho' timorous of heart, and hard beset By death in various forms, dark snares, and dogs, 388. Why is the hare, though more fleet than the fox, generally the soonest caught? Because when the hare is started, she frequently exhausts herself by her excessive efforts to immediately escape. The fox, on the contrary, less timid than the hare, breaks away only at a moderate speed, which gradually increases as he finds himself pressed by the hounds. 389. Why is the hare generally lean, while rabbits are frequently fat? The habitual timidity of the hare, and its perpetual apprehension of danger, preserve it in a lean state; but rabbits, having safe places of retreat in their burrows, are less influenced by fear, and are called upon for less exertion to escape from danger. It may also be observed that the leanness of the hare, which is caused by its timidity, is the condition of body best adapted for flight from danger. 390. Of the great speed of which the hare is capable, some idea may be gathered from the following facts:-In February, 1800, a brace of greyhounds, in Lincolnshire, ran a hare from her seat to where she was killed, a distance, measuring straight, upwards of four miles, in twelve minutes. During the course there were a great number of turns, which very considerably increased the space gone over. The hare ran herself dead before the greyhounds touched her. 391. Why is the cavity of the chest of the young hare larger than the contained lungs? The condition of the lungs of the hare are liable to extreme variation. When the animal sits upon its form in an inactive state for many hours, the lungs are comparatively passive; but when chased, the lungs are in a continual state of violent expansion and contraction. This ultimately increases the size of the lungs, which, in the old hare, will be found to fill the entire cavity of the chest. "You are the hare of whom the proverb goes, Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard."-SHAKSPEARE. Whose nightly murders thin the bleating fold."-DODSLEY. 392. Why are the ears of hares unusually long, and capable of more varied motion than those of most other animals? This fact illustrates a principle in the great design observable in nature, referring to many animals, but to the hare in particular. The external ears of animals of flight are turned backwards to give notice of the approach of an enemy from behind, whence he may steal upon them unseen; while the ears of beasts of prey, such as. lions, tigers, wolves, foxes, &c., have their trumpet part standing forwards, to seize the sounds which are before them; viz., the sounds of the animals which they pursue. The ears of the hare are long, and stand erect when the animal is listening. Upon other occasions, when concealment is necessary, they lie down close upon the animal's back. When being hunted, and well a-head of the hounds, the hare will frequently throw one ear forward and the other backward, that it may discriminate not only whence to fly but whither to go. 393. The anatomy of the internal ear also favours its reception of sounds from. every direction. The auditive canal is in part soft, and in part bony, so that the tube may be turned in the direction of the outer ear. In general the ears are naked, or very thinly covered with short hairs and the membranes of which they are composed are so thin that they are nearly transparent. In order to enable this creature to perceive the most distant approaches of danger, nature has provided it with these very long ears, which, like tubes applied to the auditory organs of deaf persons, convey to it such sounds as are remote; and the motions of the hare are directed accordingly. Its large prominent eyes being placed so far backward as to receive the rays of light on every side, it can almost see "What man art thou? quod he, Thoù lokest as thou woldest find an hare, For ever on the ground I see thee stare."-CHAUCER." distinctly behind while it runs directly forward. The muscles of its body being strong, and unencumbered with fat, it has no superfluous burden of flesh to carry; and to assist it in escaping from its pursuers, the hinder legs are considerably longer than the fore, which adds to the swiftness of its motions. When the hare hears the hounds at a distance, it flies for some time from a natural impulse, till having gained some hill or rising ground, and left the dogs so far behind that their cries no longer reach its ears, it stops, rears on its hinder legs, and looks back for the purpose of satisfying itself whether its enemies are still in sight or not; but the dogs having once gained the scent, trace it with united and unerring skill; and the poor animal soon again receives indications of their approach. Sometimes, when hard hunted, it will start a fresh hare, and squat in the same form; at others, it will creep under the door of a sheep-cot, and conceal itself among the sheep; sometimes it will enter, a hole like the rabbit; at others, it will creep up one side of a quickset hedge, and down the other; and it has been known to ascend the top of a cut edge and run a considerable way, by which stratagem it has effectually evaded the hounds. It is also not unusual for the hare to betake itself to furze bushes, and leap from one to another, whereby the dogs are frequently misled; and as it swims well, and takes the water readily, it will cross a river with the same intent, if it has the opportunity. It may be observed, however, that the first doubling which a hare makes generally affords a key to all its future attempts of that kind, the latter exactly resembling the former. The hare is a short-lived animal, and is supposed rarely to exceed the term of seven or eight years. Its voice, which is seldom heard but in the distress of sudden surprise, or when wounded, resembles the sharp cry of an infant. Its enemies are numerous and powerful. Every species of the dog kind pursues it by instinct; the cat and the weasel tribes exercise all their arts to ensnare it; and birds of prey, snakes, adders, &c., drive it from its form, particularly during the summer season; these, with the more destructive pursuits of mankind, contribute to thin the number of these animals, which from their prolific nature would otherwise multiply to an extravagant degree.* 394. Why do rabbits burrow, while hares make forms upon the surface? The burrowing of the rabbit is an instinctive contrivance consequent upon its defective speed. The rabbit cannot outrun its enemies, therefore it obtains immunity from attack by contriving a retreat in the ground. Another distinction renders this difference of habit necessary: the eyes of young hares are open at birth, and the dam suckles them only for about twenty days, when they leave her and procure their own subsistence. Young rabbits are born blind, are very "Maunder's Treasury Nat. History." |