They may all be characterised as animals destitute of any means of defence against their enemies, except the rapidity of their movements, and as exceedingly shy and timid. Their general colour is a mixture of grey and brown, sometimes quite tawny, sometimes almost pure grey, and, as Mr. Bell remarks, “The admirable wisdom which has assigned such colours to a group of defenceless animals which conceal themselves amidst the brown sombre vegetation of woods and heaths, will appear more striking when it is recollected that certain species inhabiting the snowy regions of the north become wholly white in winter. All the members of the genus,” he adds, “are remarkable for their timidity, and their whole structure is such as at once to announce to them the presence of danger, and to enable them to escape from it. The eyes and ears are so formed and situate as to become instantly cognisant of even distant warnings of peril, and the limbs are admirably adapted for the most rapid flight.” This last statement applies in a special manner to the COMMON HARE (_Lepus europæus_), which is singularly well adapted for getting over the ground rapidly by the great length and powerful development of its hind legs. These organs are nearly twice as long as the fore limbs, and, as most of us are well aware, the bones composing them are set in motion by an enormous mass of solid muscle. Owing to their great preponderance the Hare, when moving slowly in search of food, goes with a sort of lolloping gait; but the moment there is occasion for him to move with rapidity, the disproportionate hind limbs stand him in good stead, and he shoots along over the ground by a series of long leaps, and with great swiftness. At the same time, it is observed that the length of its hind legs causes the Hare to run with much greater facility up hill than down, and, in fact, it is said that in descending steep inclines the animal is obliged to run obliquely in order to escape over-balancing itself. When pursued, the Hare has the art of making sudden turns in its course, known as “doubles” or “wrenches,” by which the Dogs in chase of it are thrown out, for although most Greyhounds are swifter of foot than a Hare, they are incapable of changing their course so sharply, and thus, while they are carried some distance onwards by their own impetus, their intended victim is making off in a different direction. They adopt other cunning artifices in order to escape from their pursuers, and some of these indicate a considerable amount of intelligence. Under such circumstances, and also in search of a more plentiful supply of food, the Hare will take to the water readily, and swim across rivers. Mr. Yarrell observed a Hare even swimming across an arm of the sea about a mile broad.