72 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Family II. . . Un&dcc. (Lat. ursus, a bear; Lear kind.) 

 Sub-family a. Urslna. 



URSUS. 



Arctos (Gr. "Ap/cror, a bear), the Bear. 



The BEARS and their allies are mostly heavy, and walk with 

 the whole foot placed flat on the ground, unlike the cats, dogs, 

 &c., who walk with merely their paws or toes. All the bears 

 are omnivorous, that is, they can eat either animal or vegetable 

 food,* so that a leg of mutton, a pot of honey, a potato, or an 

 apple, are each equally acceptable. 



The Brown Bear inhabits the north of Europe, Switzerland, 

 and the Pyrenees. It has been extirpated from England for 

 many centuries, but is recorded to have been found in Scot- 

 land so late as 1057. The inhabitants of Northern Europe 

 hunt it with much skill, and take it in traps and pitfalls, 

 availing themselves of its love for honey. It is said that there 

 exists a practice of placing the hive in a tree, and planting 

 long spikes round its foot. A heavy log of wood is then sus- 



