666 NATURAL HISTORY. 



slie turned it over and over, using her nose, claws, and teeth upon it with 

 great energy, but to no avail. The smell of the contents seemed to 

 enrapture her, and when the box was opened for her, she seemed in rap- 

 tures. In went the nose, also both fore paws. Very soon that wonder- 

 fully mobile organ had separated every fibre, so that the mass seemed 

 trebly increased. Next came a dirty pipe, and her velvety nose was 

 instantly squeezed into the rank nicotian bowl. The old cat had just fin- 

 ished her nap, and was stretching herself, an operation which means that 

 she stood with her fore feet close together, the limbs elongated, the back 

 arched up like that of a camel, the head drawn back and yawning widely. 

 Such a sight the coaiti had never seen ; hence it must be looked into. So 

 in a trice, erect, and resting flatly on her hind feet, like a little bear, she 

 put her arms around Tabbie's neck, and, reeking with nicotine, down went 

 that inquisitive nose into the depths of the feline fauces. 



The coaiti is an amiable animal, and even when two are kept together, 

 they never quarrel even over their food. They will eat almost anything ; 

 milk, sugar, insects, worms, rats, mice, and poultry all come within the 

 scope of their appetites. Curious is the way in which they search for 

 earthworms. That long and mobile nose, like the snout of the pig, roots 

 up the ground, and ploughs long furrows an inch in depth, through garden 

 and greensward. When attacked, there is no disposition to run, but, 

 instead, a show of courage, no matter what the odds. 



In the kinkajou of South America the tail reaches its highest develop- 

 ment outside the monkeys. It is very long, and like the same member in 

 the monkeys, it is a fifth hand. It can be coiled around the branches of a 

 tree strongly enough to support the weight of the animal ; while the hind 

 feet are almost as useful as the front pair in handling objects of food. 



Tin- bears, as a whole, are the least carnivorous of any of the present 

 group. Their general appearance needs but little comment here. In shape 

 all are much alike, and there is comparatively little diversity in their 

 habits. They are the typical plantigrades, and their gait seems heavy and 

 awkward, and yet they are able to get over the ground with considerable 

 rapidity. There are only a few species in the whole world, and North 

 America boasts of but four, together with several geographical varieties. 

 These are the brown, black, grizzly, and polar bears. 



Of these the brown bear is a resident of the more northerly portions of 

 our country ; but is far more abundant in the Old World, stretching across 

 from Scandinavia to Kamtchatka and Japan, and south into the Pyrenees. 

 It is Larger than our black bear, and is a familiar animal in captivity, as 

 specimens can be seen in every menagerie and zoological garden, while it 

 is the most common bear of the strolling mountebanks. 



