18 Maynard on the Mammals of FJorida. 



palmettos; later in the season they eat the tender new 

 growth or bads of the above-mentioned plants, for this 

 purpose they will climb the tallest palmetto an 1 with their 

 strong claws will tear out the ^'cabbage," as the new growth 

 is sometimes called, and eagerly devour it. The removing 

 of this bud is no easy task even to an experienced person 

 provided with an axe, yet Bruin's great strength enables him 

 to force the tough leaf-stalks asunder with the greatest of 

 ease. Trees which have been treated in this rough manner 

 invariably die, and a large number may be seen in this con- 

 dition in any cabbage swamp. 



When the king or horseshoe crabs come on shore to 

 deposit their spawn, the Bears resort to the shore, and, after 

 turning the crustaceans over, scoop out their softer parts. 

 They are also aware of the time when the sea turtles lay, 

 and during the months of June and July walk the beaches 

 nightly and devour the eggs. Indeed, so persistently do 

 they hunt for them that it is almost impossible to find a 

 nest that has been undisturbed. 



The Bears of this State are fully as large as those from 

 New England, and the hair is as dark colored. I have also 

 seen skins that were but little inferior to northern ones in 

 wooliness, but generall}^ they are only covered with hair. 

 One which I procured at Dummet's in the winter of 1869 

 is singularly marked, for it has brownish lines starting from 

 the point of each shoulder and extending down the legs on 

 the inside. The other portion of the hair is black. The 

 young, for a year or two, are strongly inclined to reddish- 

 brown. The Bears inhabit the entire portion of the main- 

 land, but are seldom found on the Keys. 



11. Cariacus virginia:n^us Gray. Common Deer. — 

 Very numerous in almost all sections. The Deer of Florida 

 are not likely to be exterminated very soon, not only be- 



