Bears. 65 
equal lack of success. Finally, the cat was seen to deliberately 
walk up to the looking-glass, keeping its eyes on the image, and 
then, when near enough to the edge, to feel carefully with one 
paw behind for the supposed intruder, whilst with its head 
twisted round to the front it assured itself of the persistence of 
the reflection. The result of this experiment fully satisfied the 
cat that he had been the victim of delusion, and never would he 
condescend to notice mere reflections, though the trap was more 
than once laid for him.” 
From the anatomy of the bear family, which we may now 
consider, it might be inferred that this group had under- 
gone considerable modifications in structure. The parts of 
the skeleton, though robust and immensely strong. preclude 
that activity combined with prodigious muscular power so 
marked in the cats. Owing to the position of the feet in walk- 
ing, the whole of the sole being placed on the ground, they 
cannot run with anything like the speed of the digitigrade mem- 
bers of the order, and in other respects they are comparatively 
ill adapted to a predatory life. The teeth correspond to those 
of the dog, though the canines are relatively smaller. The 
molars, instead of having the blade-like tubercles on their 
crowns, are flattened into instruments for grinding their food, 
the lower jaw also permitting of some lateral motion which 
enables them to masticate vegetable food. Whether they are 
flesh or vegetable eaters the teeth are the same. Their diet, 
however, is much mixed, and may consist of roots, grass, ants, 
honey, fish, or animal food, so that it is difficult to make any 
strict distinction on this ground. Probably those which are 
normally herbivorous, become, in time of need, carnivorous, and 
vice versd. Thus, Mr. Leigh Smith relates in his account of the 
“ Hira” expedition, 1881-2, that “ the stomachs of the Polar bears 
were several times found to be full of nothing but grass,” at a 
time of year when animal food was certainly plentiful; yet this 
species, if any, would be entitled to be classed as strictly car- 
nivorous. On the other hand, the common American black bear 
is said on good authority to be solely a vegetable feeder by habit 
r 
