80 MAMMALIA. 



and to this leading distinction are added many others in the habits, and 

 even in the internal conformation. In both the substitute for the clavicle 

 is a mere bony rudiment suspended in the flesh. 



The Plantigrada 



Form this first tribe, which walks on the whole sole of the foot, a cir- 

 cumstance which gives them a greater facility in balancing themselves 

 upon their hinder feet. They partake of the slowTiess and nocturnal life 

 of the Insectivora, and, like them, have no caecum : most of those that in- 

 habit cold countries pass the winter in a state of lethargy. They all have 

 five toes to each foot. 



Ursus, Linn. 

 The Bears have three large molars on each side* in each jaw, altogetlier 

 tuberculous, and of which the posterior upper, and anterior upper, are the 

 longest. They are preceded by a tootla a little more trenchant, which is 

 one of the lacerators of this genus, and by a variable number of very small 

 false molars, which are sometimes shed at a very early period. This almost 

 frugivorous sort of dentition is the reason why, notwithstanding their great 

 strength, they seldom eat flesh, unless from necessity. 



They are large stout-bodied animals, with thick limbs, and a very short 

 tail : the cartilage of the nose is elongated and moveable. They excavate 

 dens or construct huts, in which they pass the winter in a state of somno- 

 lency more or less profound, and without food. It is in these retreats 

 that the female brings forth. 



The species are not easily distinguished by apparent characters. We 

 have the 



U. arctos, L., Buff". VIII. xxxi. (The Brown or common Bear 

 of Europe). Forehead convex : fur brown, more or less woolly when 

 young, and growing smoother with age. Some of them are greyish, 

 others almost yellow, and a tliird kind is browii, with shades border- 

 ing on silver. The relative height of their legs is equally variable, 

 and all without any fixed relation to age or sex. They have most com- 

 monly, when young, a whitish collar, which, in some varieties, re- 

 mains for a longer or shorter period, and even, for life. This animal 

 inhabits the lofty mountains, and great forests throughout Europe, 

 and of a great part of Asia ; the coupling season is in June, and the 

 young are produced in January. It sometimes lodges very high up 

 in trees; when young its flesh is esteemed a delicacy — the paws are 

 considered good at all ages. 



It is thought that the Black Bear of Europe is a distinct species : 

 those which have been described as such had a flat forehead, and the 

 fur woolly and blackish ; their origin, however, does not appear to 

 us to be very authentic f. 



* We shall hereafter omit the repetition of the words " on each side," &c., it be- 

 ing understood that we speak of the molars on one side only, those of the other being 

 the same. 



f We are not yet satisfied that the Grisly Bear of North America differs specifi- 

 cally from the Brown Bear of Europe. 



P. S. Since the above note was written, General La Fayette has presented a Grisly 

 Bear to the Menagerie du Jardin du Roi. In form and hair, some shades of colour- 



