56 



THE BROWN BEAR. 



it seems contrary to reason j and in the next, I do not know hqw 

 the point is to be ascertained." One thing is certain, that let the 

 bear be killed at whatever part of the winter he. may, he is always 

 em-Ion -point, nor can you feel his ribs. He retains his fat from 

 the time he lies down in the early part of winter, till he rises in 

 spring. As spring approaches, he shakes off his lethargy parts 

 with his tappen and enters on a new career of cows, ants, honey, 

 branches, plants, berries, and corn. Rarely very rarely he 

 passes his tappen during winter and then he becomes a scare- 

 crow. At first his stomach is nice, and he eats sparingly not 

 more, perhaps, than a large dog - } confining himself to ants and 

 other delicacies, till his stomach has resumed its natural tone, 

 and then he devours almost everything eatable that comes in 

 his way, according to his usual practice during the preceding 

 autumn. 



The notion of the bear sucking his paws for nourishment, Mr. 

 Lloyd justly says, has long since been exploded -, but still he 

 does suck his paws : and the question is Why? Mr. Lloyd 

 says, he has reason to believe that the bear obtains a new skin 

 on the balls of its feet during the winter, and he asks if the 

 sucking of them may not be done to facilitate this operation of 

 nature. Some tame bears in his possession, were constantly 

 sucking or mumbling their paws j the operation, which was often 

 continued for hours together, being attended with a murmuring 

 kind of noise, which might be heard at some distance. In con- 

 sequence of this, their legs or feet were covered with saliva, or 

 rather foam, which by ignorant people might not improbably be 

 taken for the milk which it was at one time said the bear was in 

 the habit of extracting from his paws. But it was not the want 

 of food that caused Mr. Lloyd's bears to be so continually 

 mouthing, for they were to be seen thus engaged most commonly 

 immediately after they had been fed. 



The female brings forth about the end of January or in the 

 course of February, and has from one to four cubs at a birth. 

 She suckles them until summer is well advanced , and should 

 she be enceinte again in the same year, she does not suffer her 



