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Ihc noOrils; t:'c Icngth of the body is Rcnerally aLout a
foot ,ud ah,II;; anJ the eolour of the hair is ,eddiOI,
inc ·,:'I':rfed lI'ilh ,,·hitc. The hare is naturally a timid
anim:11. He flcers in his fo,"" or Ceat, during the day,
anJ i~etls, copuldtes, (se. in thenighl. In amoon·light
eveuing, a number o( them are fometimes Ceen Cporting
Ingetber, leaping and pur(uing each úther : But lhe lealt
1110tion, the falliog c(. bf, alarms them ; and then they
all run011' fcpm tcly, taking adi/Ferent route. They
:lfe extremdy fll'irl in th';r motion, which is a kind of
gallop, o, a fu cccllion of quiek leaps. When purl'ued,
they always take to the higher grounds: as thei, (ore·feel
arc mllch Ihorter Ihan Ihe hind oncs, theyrun with more
eaC. IIp·hill thao dowo hil!. The hare is eodowed with
all thofe innin!h which are neeell'4ry (o, his own pre·
fe,mion. In winter he chufes a (orm expofed to the
Coulh, a.d in fu:nmer to Ihe north . He coneeals himfelf
.mo"f v"g~table! o( the fame colour with himfelf. Mr
,Fouilloux fay., that he obfaved a Ime, as foon as he
hedfd Ihe found o( the horn, or the noife oC Ihe dogs,
IIlthough at a mile'! diOance, riíe from herCeat, fwima·
erors a ri\'ul~t, then lie down amoog the rulhes, and by
tb,s mea~s eraJe Ihe fcent o( the dugs. Arler being
'chafedfor a couple of hou,s, a hare will fometimes pUOI
anolher from his form, aod lie down in il himfelf. Wheo
113rJ prelTed, the hare will mingle wilh a flock of Iheep,
lun up an old "all and cooml himfelf among the graf,
on lhe 10p of it, or crof, a river fevml times at fmall
t1inances. He oever rUos againO lhe wiod, o, nraighl
fo,wa,d; hut conOAntly doubles about, io order to
make the dogs lofe lhei, fcenl.
It il remarkable, thal lhe hare, allhough ever fo freo
quenllypurfued by thedogs, feldom leave. theplacewhere
ihe WAS hrought (orrh, or even the (orm inwhichIhe uCual·
Jyfits It is common lO find themin rhe Came place next
day, a(ter being long and keenly chaCed the day before,.
.The (emales ~re more groCs Ihan Ihemale" and have Iels
lIrcngth and 'agility; theyare JikewiCe more timid, and
never allow the dor.s to approach fo near their fo'm be·
fore rif:og as the males. They JikewiCe praéliCe more
a'ts, ald double mor, frequently, than the malts.
Tite hare is di/Fufed almoO over eve,y dimate ; and,
' ng th~y areev:ry wherehunteJ, their fpecie!
oever d,minilhes. They are in a eondition of propaga
ling the fi.O ym of their Jives ; the females go W'I/)
. young about 30 days, and produce four o, five al atime;
and as Coon a, they hAYe broughl forth, they again ad·
mit the embraces o( the male; Co that they nray be faid
10 ~e alV/ays pregnant. The eye! o( the young are o
pcn at hinh; the mother fu;klcs them about 20 d,y~,
',(ttr which lhey Ceparale from her and procure theirown
food. T he young never go fM f,om the place where
lhey were brougflt (o!lh; bUl lIill they live loliwy. "nd
nr, ke Corms a~"ul Ihirty paces diOanl (roOl eaeh oth" :
Thus. i( a youn~ Iwe be CounJ any whcre. you may .1·
01011 be cenain of linding Cevml ()t~e,s withjn a v"y
fnHII dilbnce. The hare j3 not fo ,~e a, hi~ mannm
\'Iould indicdle. Ht js gentlc, and CulCeptihl" o( a kiod
o( eoJuwion. ¡'Ie j! p,eny t.lily tJmed, and will even
!ho·.· , kind uf ;:I'aehm~nt to thc peopleof Ihehoufe: HUI
IliJl this attaehmcnt is not fo llrong or J fijng '.S 10 coSane
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hilll to become al together domenic; for althou~h ta o
hn whcn very younS, and brought up in the houCr, he
no fooner armes at a etrlain age, than he takes the
(¡dI opponunity of reeovering his liberty and flying tO
the fidds. The ha,e lives about Ceven Or eighl yem.
He feeds upon graC" and other vegetabies. His fldh
i, excellenl food. Sce Plate cm. fig 2 .
2. The cunieulus, or rabbit, has a very Ihon tail,
and naked ears. The rabbit, though it has a great re·
femblanee tO the hare, is ve,y diffm nt inhis manom ;
and they have fueh a rooted antipathy lO one another,
that no art can engage them tO have any Cexual inler–
courCe. The feeundity o( the rabbit is OiJl greater
than that of the hare ; they multiply fo prodiSioufly in
fome countries, that the produél of the fields js hudly
fuffi cieot to majntain them. They devour herbage of
all kinds, roots, grain, fruits, 6e. Theyarcin acon·
diti()O (or produciog at lhe ase of fiK months; Jikethe
hare, the female is almoO conOantly in Ceafon ; Ihe
gOC9 with young about 30 days, and brings Conh from
fou, to ¡ight at aliuer. A few day' be(ore linering, /he
digs aoew bole in the earth, not io aHraight lioe, but
in a zigzag form; the bonom o( the hole Ihe enlarge,
every way; Ihe then puJls -ofF a greal quantil)' of nair
from her beJly, of whieh Ihe m.kes a kind of bed for
her young. DUliog lhe two firll day' after birth, Ihe
never Jeaves them, but when prelTed with hunser, aod
and then Ihe eats quickly 3nd relurns : In this maoncr
Ihe fuckle, and altends her young for fix weeks. AIl
thi, time, both the hole and .the youPg are conmled
from the male; Cometimes when the female goes out, iD
order todeceive the male, file (¡lis up Ih. mouth of tbe
hole with eanhmixed with her OWlt urint. BUI wheo
the young ones beginto come to the mouth of thelu le,
and lO cat Cu,h herbs as themother brrngs to them, lhe
father feems lO know the",; he takes them betwixt
hi, paws, fmooths their l13ir, and emITes themwith
great fondoeCs. The rabbil i, Cuppofed nOl tO be a
oative of the norrhero pans o( Europe, but tGhave
been originallybrought (rom C,eeee and Spain. The
rabbit lives about ffven yem, and his Belh is sood.
Their colour js various, Come o( them being red, o·
thm whirc, bu! lhe mon general colour is g,ey. See
Plale cm fis· 3. •
3. The Cdpcnfis, has a tail about lhe lengtlr of his
head- and ..d legs. It i, a native of the Cape of
Cood Hope.
l' The brafilienfis has no lail. It is found in South
America.
LEPUS, in an.onomy. See ASTRONO"Y, p. 487.
LERIA, a cily and bilhop's fee o( Portugal: W.
lon~. 9° IS', and N. 1,1. 39° 30'.
LEIU D,\, a eily and biOwp's Cee of Catalonia in Spain:
E. long. S', N. I.,t 4to 20',
LER INS, tlVO on Ihe eoan o( Provence, or
fix n,iles Cou lh c( An!i~=;, called SI. Margaret Jnd
SI. Jj'lnorat.
LERNE.\ , the Sr A' HHF, in zoology, aCca· iofe!! of the
o,der of the gymnarthria, the body o( II'hich is o( an
oblong cylindrrc r. ):11 .. <, aoc! 1$perfIl! ,¡cd inthe(oreheaJ ;
lhc t<ntacul. r"''cnl~le (ars. S.e Gn:s.\R rr: . .. .
l ,E.