Sir, – While enjoying Nicholas Rhea’s articles in Weekend Times, he follows the popular but technically incorrect description of the Common Brown Hare (D&S, Mar 6). The correct term is not “As mad as a March Hare” but “As mad as a Marsh Hare”.
Erasmus used the words “Mad as a Marsh Hare” not March.
Lewis Carroll brought the expression to life in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
It is thought that hares are wilder in the marshes because of the absence of cover and hedges. There is also the Blue Scottish or Mountain hare that changes its colour to white in the winter. The Irish hare, also known as a Mountain hare does not, as a rule, change colour in winter.
IONA TATE-PINKNEY Bolckow Street, Guisborough.
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