~arch,
THE LANDSWOMAN
New Eyes and New Ears
By Edith Lyttelton
THE H.t.RE.
T
H E hare wn! the emblem of Peace to the
Ancien• GI"'eks, so if yon hav(' tho f'hance to
::-f'e onfl, think of this for a minute anrl 'Sl'COt him
o ut of the rcn.ce year. He will he quitm ! Hare-buntmg is one
of th~ oldc~t 9ports 10 tho worlrl : thret" centuries
~fore Chri~t wn.s born men WE're hunting th.is
little anirunl "'ith do~ and ne~. Tht" hnre has
four l':Cntrif'!l who guard him--two eyes which are
"'Ct well forward to see danger m front and two
long _e ars wl1!ch he back and cat0h any 'sound~ of
w_arm.ng hchmd. He can run with ~reat speed ;
!us lnnd lc>gs ar~ m11ch longt-r thnn tho fort> feet,
fO hi' makes rap1d IN~ps. Jookmg nther awkwnrd,
bnt covenn~ the> gronnvE>n ~e<'n one @itting 10
his form. Th,. fur of a hare matches the colours
d drie-d grn$('S and leaves so <>xa.ctly that you have
to UH" J-Our new eyes very cleverly t-o find him ;
you may almo~t touch a haro with your feet before
hP Wj)J E1pr1ng away. If thiS happenS, StoOp dOWn
and look at the form. smooth a.n,l flat in a bit of
coarie graqs or fern, or more of+.en well inside a.
prickly fuT'7.P bush, wh(•fe it is well protected. Feel
how wnrm nnd Roft it is; you might be there
your~>clf if you were 8mall enou~h. The bare finds
his own ·y.)('ctal form by trail; he sniffs tbo wind
a.nc~ go"" to Jt up wind. It is a curious tlung that,
unhke u~, bun>!' run much faster up .hill th&.n rf own.
W a.tch a hare Jollopintz downhill and you will see
be alwa.ye JlOc.',, if he can, in a zig-zng-not straight
down-br,·ausc he i~ afraid of toppling. If ho hAS
t.o go straight down ho v<>ry often does roll ovE>r.
Tho worst of th<' hare is hi<~ fondn~>ss for -roung
wheat, an~ young trees. You must keep a ·sharp
look-out '" hPn tho wheat begins to .show this year.
Pf'ople tn.Jk (If bdng "as mad a.s a March hue,"
hu~ th~tt ie on~y bccauae tbP hnre J8 a very )Jlayful
ammal, and, hkl' th.- fox, 8JJOrt8 wtth his children,
and froli('8 t1 bout for h1s own plcasme, too. in a. most
nmusing ~ a.y. The March wind• scr•m U> invigorat"
him. nnrJ o n. March hare is ca.l!ed mad. PPoplo a-re
rn.thor rtpt tQ c·aiJ an1one with high apirits mad.
~~n·t th,.y' Dut it
a I'Ort of mn.dncu wo all
~nvy, and flOm('9 from the joy of living and of
bdog.
So b_, mad lik" th,, March !tare' ie mad;
th•·m MH br· n o Mur·J houndf! to pun!U'.) you, and no
guns to shoot you 1f you run R.Ild IPap out of doora
in the fwc e.ir.
1"
Y
f){ peopl~
ta.lk about a. Loaguc
of Na.tit>n, u if it worr somothin'J which
c oufd fxo t rt att d in tl mon:H'Dt. ,Jm,t,
to
iwaglno whttt Jt ia all the W"~'a.t •ta.k rnQD o the
world ar(J dliinsz t-o·dR.y, '1ttlng mund a ta.hJ" -
Lif;yt! f,, otg'' f()J .r-;ngland, (JI"m''""''AU for Jt'ro.nce,
Wifl()rt for Am,·dt·a, oflu•r• for Jt.aly, a.ntl .Japl\n,
l!nd a. ha t nf moll n•.ttwna.
•JJt•v t tryhur to jt,in h nds and t.y that n r•vf)r
ltgair• '1h lJ th,. ro
'~
trr
I~
war
tY.-b~"''"
ttwm,
tht>y feel angry or want to l they w11l
a what a wonderful thin~ that would be for
thl" world. But it isn't ca~y to make thctn all
agrc~"', bcccl!St3 e~tch one will h<~ve to [.tive up som<.'·
thing.
You "ill h<'ar that South African<~ and Austra.linus
arc an~ry bt-cause thev have not bef'n given thc-
nt-w countric~ they conqucrrd without any con-
ditions. But tbl'y hav1· to undcr<~tnnrl that the
I.enguc or Nations must be c:urc> that every country,
and not only those gi\'~"n to our own p('ople whom
"c can trust, is properly treated and gol'orncd.
An,l so th13 League Scl.JS to South Africa, AuE~tra.lia,
and the oth<'r nationR, " H ero, tl\ko hold of this
place-, and that; place, hut, r omembcr, Wf' want, tho
country rnled in a. ct>rtain way." It's just as if
your farmer said to you, " Now I'm going to put
you in chn.rg(.\ of that far-awny fif"'ld ; you can do
what you like, only I must ~<'e that you keep tho
hl"dl;e! in order, and that you don't lPt the land get
dirty, and if you keep a. cow or two that you feerl
them properly, and so on.'' That's what a mandat.<>
mean'-1.
There are a great many strikE's going on jnst now.
Sometimes the workmen nro right to ask for mor<'
wages and for short-t"r hours, but sometimes thf'y
have brokE-n their word to abide by a certain
agreement, and, of course, that makes the masters
angry. We want a. League of Natiomt spirit hPre
too I wish everyborly would get round a table
ann settle up their quarrels, and let us all get
on with the Peace. We can never be prosperous
again 1f we don't work; all the time DH'n arc
striking the machinery lies idle, and the thing3 we
all "ant to buy arc being ma.do by foreigners .
Th<' Land Settlement Bill will won be up be foro
PRrliamcnt, anrl we all hope the clause will be
pa.s~ed sayi ng thB.t ex·St>rvice womon are to hn.vo
as ~oocl a. chance to sottlP on the lnnd as ox·servh·c
m on.
The Germans are in the ruid dlo ....,{ a grl"at stru~glc
to form n. stable Government. There ara a. lot of
people who want to get G<'rmany llnd Francu anrl
England into the aamc mc3R aa BolRhov1st RussJa..
Pror•le arc stnrving and being murdered and brutally
trl·ated m Rus~ia by the p('oplo JH power, who want
to d cP troy all money and n.ll thought f'XCOl't their
own money and th<'ir own thought. We can't gE>t
our country into a. hetU>r ata.to by dcRtruction.
We want r:vrtyone to lend a hand and hc>lp to build.
Tha.t is wl11.1.t the Land Arm.v i11