A GREAT DELICACY, 285 



other until a mass of foam runs down on both 

 sides of the mouth. After this it continues its 

 rambles. 



Most writers on the habits of this animal have 

 stated that the black bear does not eat animal 

 food from choice, and never unless pressed bj 

 hunger. This we consider a great mistake, for 

 in our experience we have found the reverse to 

 be the case, and it is well known to our frontier 

 farmers that this animal is a great destroyer of 

 pigs, hogs, calves, and sheep, for the sake of 

 which we have even known it to desert the pecan 

 groves in Texas. At the same time, as will have 

 been seen by our previous remarks, its principal 

 food generally consists of berries, roots, and other 

 vegetable substances. It is very fond also of 

 fish, and during one of our expeditions to Maine 

 and New Brunswick, we found the inhabitants 

 residing near the coast unwilling to eat the flesh 

 of the animal on account of its fishy taste. In 

 our western forests, however, the bear feeds on 

 so many nuts and well tasted roots and berries, 

 that its meat is considered a great delicacy, and 

 in the city r>f New York we have generally 

 found its market price three or four times more 

 than the best beef per pound. The fore-paw of 

 the bear when cooked presents a striking re- 

 semblance to the hand of a child or young per- 



