160 URSIDiE. 



character as perhaps any animal with which we are 

 acquainted. Its food, in fact, consists indifferently of 

 various roots, earth-nuts, beech-mast, fruits, the eggs of 

 birds, some of the smaller quadrupeds, frogs, and insects. 

 Buffon states that it digs up wasps' nests for the sake 

 of the honey, — a fact which has received an interesting- 

 confirmation from the observation of a correspondent of 

 Loudon's *' Magazine of Natural History,^' who seems, 

 however, to attribute the destruction of these nests to 

 the fondness of the Badger for the larvae of the wasp, 

 as he says that the combs were found scattered about, 

 but none were left that contained the maggots. As no 

 wasp in this country lays up a store of honey, like the 

 bee, it is but too obvious that it can only rob the nests 

 for the sake of the larvse ; yet if a predilection of the 

 Badger for honey has elsewhere been observed, it offers 

 a striking analogy to several others of the group, 

 particularly to its Oriental relation the Ratel, Mellivora 

 Capensis, which is known to live principally upon it. 



The Badger is endowed with astonishing strength of 

 jaws, which is aided by the peculiar manner in which the 

 lower is articulated with the upper, the condyle being 

 received deeply into the glenoid cavity, which bends 

 over it, before and behind, so as to retain it permanently 

 in its place. It also possesses great general muscular 

 power; and these means of inflicting injury, combined 

 with the defensive coat of mail afforded by its strong 

 leathery hide, and rough long shaggy hair, render him 

 a formidable enemy to attack or to cope with. Such 

 qualities as these formerly occasioned the cowardly and 

 barbarous amusement of Badger-baiting, now probably 

 but little known, to be a favourite and exciting sport 

 amongst our rustic population. The poor devoted 

 Badger was put into a small tub oi- barrel, or some such 



