HARES AND RABBITS. 241

Among the former is the Capybara, the largest of the rodents,
an animal which attains to from three to four feet in length.
It belongs to Brazil, Guinea, and Paraguay. The Canadian
porcupine, and the Brazilian porcupine, are tree porcupines
and are only found in America.
The Guinea The Guinea Pig (Cavta Cobaya) is said to be
Pig. the domestic form of the Cavia Aperea of Brazil
and Peru. It derives its name from its supposed place of
origin, as it was said to have been first introduced into England
from Guinea. It is tailless, but clean and neat in ap-
pearance, being marked with black, white, and orange colours.
It is said to lack intelligence and to be destitute of attach-
ment, suffering its young to be destroyed without resistance.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that it has so many; it breeds
at intervals of two months and produces from three to twelve
young ones at a birth.
Hares and We come now to the second sub-order of the
Rabbits. Rodents or animals that gnaw, the Duphicidentati,
the rodents having four incisor teeth in the upper jaw. This
brings us to the Hares and Rabbits, of which there are nu-
merous species, the Common Hare, the Irish or Mountain
Hare and the Common Rabbit being the best known. The
Irish or Mountain Hare is somewhat larger than the common
hare and changes from brown to white in the winter. The
Sardinian, the Egyptian, the Polar, and the Sage hares are
other varieties.
The The Common Hare is a familiar animal and
Common needs no description. It is found throughout
Hare: Europe and is well known in England. The
hare hides during the day under cover of low foliage, ferns,
and the undergrowth of preserves, in spots known as ‘forms’.
Its habit of making a definite track from its form to its feeding
grounds and of always following its own track makes it an
easy sacrifice to those who know its ways. It is exceedingly
swift in its movements, and it is well that it is so, for its
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