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. If a 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 



