Note 7 — PETER KALM’s TRAVELS.

January the 6th. There are a great number of hares in this country, but they differ from our Swedish ones in their size, which is very small, and but little bigger than that of a rabbit; they keep almost the same grey colour both in summer and winter, which our Northern hares have in summer only; the tip of their ears is always grey, and not black; the tail is likewise grey on the upper side, at all seasons; they breed several times a year: in spring they lodge their young ones in hollow trees, and in summer, in the months of June and July, they breed in the grass. When they are surprised they commonly take refuge in hollow trees, out of which they are taken by means of a crooked stick, or by cutting a hole into the tree, opposite to the place where they lie; or by smoke, which is occasioned by making a fire on the outside of the tree. On all these occasions the greyhounds must be at hand. These hares never bite, and can be touched without any danger. In day-time they usually lie in hollow trees, and hardly ever stir from thence, unless they be disturbed by men or dogs; but in the night they come out, and seek their food. In bad weather, or when it snows, they lie close for a day or two, and do not venture to leave their retreats. They do a great deal of mischief in the cabbage-fields; but apple-trees suffer infinitely more from them, for they peel off all the bark next to the ground. The people here agreed that the hares are fatter in a cold and severe winter, than in a mild and wet one, of which they could give me several reasons, from their own conjectures. The skin is useless, because it is so loose, that it can be drawn off; for when you would separate it from the flesh, you need only pull at the fur, and the skin follows: these hares cannot be tamed. They were at all times, even in the midst of winter, plagued with a number of common fleas7.