THE BADGER 



conformation of the badger's and bear's skull, 

 but the protecting ridge on the head is absent 

 in the bear. What gives to the badger's jaw 

 its proverbial and terrific force ? To witness 

 its work is to know that its power of biting, 

 crushing, and holding must be the result of 

 some peculiarly strong mechanical as well as 

 muscular construction. The examination of 

 the skull helps in the solution of the mystery. 



%^' ^-^^.i^cj 



Fig. 3. Lower Jaw of Badger. 



The conformation of the jaw is strong, and 

 the muscles attached to it powerful ; but 

 besides this he has two distinguishing 

 structural additions that give his jaws, fur- 

 nished with his formidable teeth, the strength 

 and retentive power of an iron vice. The 

 first is that his lower jaws are locked into 

 sockets in the skull, and are thereby made — 

 unlike those of all other animals I know of — 



32 



