Notwithstanding the great estimation in which the _flesh_ of the hare is now held as food, it was absolutely forbidden by the Druids; and was abhorred by the Britons for many centuries after the abolition of that order. At the present day it is not eaten by the inhabitants of many eastern nations. It is prohibited by the Mahometans and Jews; and the Copts, who have adopted many of the Jewish customs, refrain from it. The ancient Romans, however, considered it so great a delicacy for the table, that Martial styles the hare, in this view, the first of quadrupeds. The _fur_ of the hare forms an important article in the manufacture of hats, and vast quantities of hares' skins are, for this purpose, annually brought from Russia and Siberia. This is the chief use which we make of them; but, in some parts of the Continent, the fur is spun and woven into a kind of cloth. The inhabitants of Dalecarlia, a province of Sweden, set a peculiar value upon such cloth, from an opinion that it is itself so attractive to fleas as to preserve the wearer from their attacks! The Romans spun the fur both of the hare and rabbit into cloth; but Pliny says that such cloth was neither soft nor durable. In the extreme northern countries, where the frosts of winter are intense, and where snow lies upon the ground for many successive months, all the hares, at the approach of that season, change their coat, and, instead of retaining a coloured fur, become perfectly white. The chase of the hare is, at this day, a popular amusement in most parts of England; and four or five centuries ago it was so much followed, that even ladies had hunting parties by themselves, in which they rode astride upon the saddle. It is sometimes difficult to ascertain the excellence of hares for the table, but the following directions may be of use. When newly killed the body will be stiff, and the flesh of pale colour; but when a hare has been some time killed the body becomes limber, and the flesh gradually turns black. A young hare may be known from an old one, after it is dead, by the bones of the knee joint. If, on thrusting the thumb-nail against this joint, the bones are somewhat separate, the hare is young; if there be no space, it is old; and the greater the separation, the younger the animal may be considered. The under jaw of a young hare may easily be broken, and the ears easily torn; the cleft also of the lip is narrow, and the claws smooth and sharp. In an old hare the cleft of the lip spreads very much, the claws are blunt and rugged, and the ears dry and tough. Hares may be kept better if they are not opened for four or five days after they are killed; and they are considered in the best state for the table when the colour of the flesh is beginning to turn.