On Hunting

The animal is so prolific that at the same time she is rearing one litter, she produces another and she is pregnant. The scent of the little leverets is stronger than that of the big ones; for while their limbs are still soft they drag the whole body on the ground.

Sportsmen, however, leave the very young ones to the goddess.[*](Artemis.) Yearlings go very fast in the first run, but then flag, being agile, but weak.

Find the hare’s track by beginning with the hounds in the cultivated lands and gradually working downwards.[*](The cultivated land is on the lower slopes of the mountains.) To track those that do not come into cultivated land, search[*](There is evidently a gap in the Greek before τοὺς λειμῶνας, which has nothing to govern it.) the meadows, valleys, streams, stones and woody places. If she moves off, don’t shout, or the hounds may get wild with excitement and fail to recognise the tracks.

Hares when found by hounds and pursued sometimes cross brooks and double back and slip into gullies or holes. The fact is they are terrified not only of the hounds, but of eagles as well; for they are apt to be snatched up while crossing hillocks and bare ground until[*](Not so long as; cf. 14.) they are yearlings, and the bigger ones are run down and caught by the hounds.

The swiftest are those that frequent mountains; those of the plain are not so speedy; and those of the marshes are the slowest. Those that roam over any sort of country are difficult to chase, since they know the short cuts. They run mostly uphill[*](i.e. when pursued.) or on the level, less frequently in uneven ground, and very seldom downhill.

When being pursued they are most conspicuous across ground that has been broken up, if they have some red in their coats, or across stubble, owing to the shadow they cast. They are also conspicuous in game paths and on roads if these are level, since the bright colour of their coats shows up in the light. But when their line of retreat is amongst stones, in the mountains, over rocky or thickly wooded ground they cannot be seen owing to the similarity of colouring.