140 BULLETIN NO. VII. 
and the poultryman. The habits are tolerably well known. 
It is instructive to watch the Procyon in confinement, which is 
readily endured, for the amiable and inquisitive pet exhibits 
many of his native characteristics. There is something quite 
human in the way the claws are used, although the expression 
of the face and many of the attitudes and motions are quite 
bear-like. In fact there is a curious combination of the ludi- 
crous clumsiness of a bear with a deftness and sprightliness 
peculiarly its own. Even when chained, the fore feet are kept 
constantly in motion examining automatically every inequality 
of the ground and every crevice. A rat hole or the like is al- 

Fig. 10.—The Raccoon at Bay. 
ways an attractive field for study. If permitted to approach 
the person he scrambles freely over one and searches every 
pocket and hem. A bit of cake or candy thus found is eagerly 
devoured and the search at once renewed. If furnished water 
all food is carefully washed, and in its absence it is carefully 
rubbed. The positions assumed in this process are frequently 
comical in the extreme. Ifa fragment is accidentally dropped 
the feet distinguish it from the pebbles on the bottom at 
once. When searching for a lost morsel with its feet one 
scarcely escapes the impression that the animal is blind, which 
delusion is hightened by the opaque appearance of the pupil 
in many lights. On the other hand, the truth is that the eyes 
are busily engaged in following our motions, and the animal 
relies on the tactile sense entirely in handling its food. At 
other times when provided with food it seats itself gravely or 


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