On Hunting

The longest runners are those that are found on bare land, because they are exposed to view; the shortest, those found in thick covers, since the darkness hinders their flight.

There are two species of hare.[*](The common hare and a smaller variety of the same; which is said to be more brindled in colour than the larger kind. See The Hare in Fur and Feather Series, p.5.)

The large are dark brown, and the white patch on the forehead is large; the smaller are chestnut, with a small white patch.

The larger have spots round the scut, the smaller at the side of it. The eyes in the large species are blue, in the small grey. The black at the tip of the ear is broad in the one species, narrow in the other.

The smaller are found in most of the islands, both desert and inhabited. They are more plentiful in the islands than on the mainland, for in the majority of these there are no foxes to attack and carry off the hares and their young; nor eagles, for they haunt big mountains rather than small, and the mountains in the islands, generally speaking, are rather small.

Hunters seldom visit the desert islands, and there are few people in the inhabited ones, and most of them are not sportsmen; and if an island is consecrated, one may not even take dogs into it. Since, then, but few of the old hares and the leverets that they produce are exterminated by hunting, they are bound to be abundant.

The sight of the hare is not keen for several reasons. The eyes are prominent; the lids are too small and do not give protection to the pupils; consequently the vision is weak and blurred.

Added to this, though the animal spends much time asleep, it gets no benefit from that, so far as seeing goes. Its speed, too, accounts in no small degree for its dim sight. For it glances at an object and is past it in a flash, before realising its nature.

And those terrors, the hounds, close behind them when they are pursued combine with these causes to rob them of their wits. The consequence is that the hare bumps against many obstacles unawares and plunges into the net.

If she ran straight, she would seldom meet with this mishap. But instead of that she comes round and hugs the place where she was born and bred, and so is caught. In a fair run she is seldom beaten by the hounds owing to her speed. Those that are caught are beaten in spite of their natural characteristics through meeting with an accident. Indeed, there is nothing in the world of equal size to match the hare as a piece of mechanism. For the various parts that make up her body are formed as follows.

The head is light, small, drooping, narrow at the front; the ears are upright;[*](The ears are upright is not in the MSS., and is inserted from Pollux. As our author is enumerating those characteristics of the hare that make for speed, it is not quite certain that the words are his, but see 33.) the neck is thin, round, not stiff, and fairly long; the shoulder-blades are straight and free at the top; the fore-legs are agile and close together; the chest is not broad; the ribs are light and symmetrical; the loins are circular; the rump is fleshy; the flanks are soft and fairly spongy; the hips are round, well filled out, and the right distance apart at the top; the thighs are small and firm, muscular on the outside and not puffy on the inside; the shanks are long and firm; the fore-feet are extremely pliant and narrow and straight and the hind-feet hard and broad; and all four are indifferent to rough ground; the hind-legs are much longer than the fore-legs, and slightly bent outwards; the coat is short and light.

With such a frame she cannot fail to be strong, pliant and very agile.

Here is a proof of her agility. When going quietly, she springs—no one ever saw or ever will see a hare walking—bringing the hind-feet forward in advance of the fore-feet and outside them; and that is how she runs.

This is obvious when snow is on the ground. The scut is of no assistance in running, for it is not able to steer the body owing to its shortness. The hare does this by means of one of her ears; and when she is roused by the hounds she drops one ear on the side on which she is being pressed and throws it aslant, and then bearing on this she wheels round sharply and in a moment leaves the assailant far behind.

So charming is the sight that to see a hare tracked, found, pursued and caught is enough to make any man forget his heart’s desire.

When hunting on cultivated land avoid growing crops and let pools and streams alone. It is unseemly and wrong to interfere with them, and there is a risk of encouraging those who see to set themselves against the law.[*](Both text and meaning are doubtful here. By the law is probably meant the law (or custom?) that allowed hunters to hunt over growing crops. See 12.5.) On days on which there is no hunting,[*](i.e., during festivals.) all hunting tackle should be removed.

The trappings of hounds are collars, leashes, and surcingles. The collars should be soft and broad, so as not to chafe the hounds’ coat. The leashes should have a noose for the hand, and nothing else; for if the collar is made in one piece with the leash, perfect control of the hounds is impossible. The straps of the surcingles should be broad, so as not to rub the flanks, and they should have little spurs sewed on to them, to keep the breed pure.

Hounds should not be taken out hunting when off their feed, since this is a proof that they are ailing; nor when a strong wind is blowing, since it scatters the scent and they cannot smell, and the purse-nets will not stand in position, nor the hayes.

But when neither of these hindrances prevents, have the hounds out every other day. Do not let them take to pursuing foxes; for it is utter ruin, and they are never at hand when wanted.

Vary the hunting-ground frequently, so that the hounds may be familiar with the hunting-grounds and the master with the country. Start early, and so give the hounds a fair chance of following the scent. A late start robs the hounds of the find and the hunters of the prize; for the scent is by its nature too thin to last all day.

Let the net-keeper wear light clothing when he goes hunting. Let him set up the purse-nets in winding, rough, steep, narrow, shady paths, brooks, ravines, running watercourses (these are the places in which the hare is most apt to take refuge: a list of all the others would be endless), leaving

unobstructed and narrow passages to and through these places, just about daybreak, and not too early, so that in case the line of nets be near the growth to be searched, the hare may not be frightened by hearing the noise close by (if the distance is considerable, it matters less if the work is done early), seeing that the nets stand clear so that nothing may cling to them.[*](This portentous sentence is a literal presentation of the Greek text, which, however, is rather uncertain. If the nets are fixed near the covert before daybreak, the hare is likely to stir at the noise. After daybreak she will not stir.)