THE NATURALIST IN NORWAY. 



trict, who are obliged to assemble armed at a given 

 place and on a fixed day. A cordon is then formed, 

 the circle of hunters is gradually narrowed, and the 

 bear generally falls a victim to its marauding habits. 



The Norwegian bear is not a very dangerous animal 

 when left alone. It very seldom attacks human beings, 

 but gets out of their way when possible. On asking a 

 Norwegian friend an ardent sportsman if he had 

 en countered many bears in his hunting expeditions, I 

 received the following reply : " I have killed thirty-one 

 bears in my time, and was never attacked by one. I 

 have frequently, when unarmed, met them in the woods, 

 when they appeared quite as eager to escape from me 

 as I was anxious to avoid them." On another occasion, 



1 asked an old Norwegian peasant woman if she had 

 ever met a bear in her part of Norway, " Oh, bless 

 you, yes, often," was her answer; "but they never 

 did me any harm. I have often passed one on a high 

 hill near our village, and so close that I could almost 

 have touched it." 



A Norwegian bear, when about three years old, will 

 weigh about 350 pounds. It feeds in this country on 

 grass, on various kinds of herbs, and especially on the 

 wild berries which grow so abundantly in some parts 

 of this northern land. It is said that when Bruin has 

 fed for some time on wild berries, his teeth get so set 

 on edge that he longs for animal food, when he 

 attacks and kills horses, cows, calves, sheep, and 

 goats. These forays generally take place in autumn, 

 when the animal becomes so fat by the indulgence 

 of his carnivorous tastes, that he can retire to his hie, 

 and remain in a torpid state throughout the winter. 

 It is quite certain that when he makes his appearance 



