THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 
Ursus Americanvs. Pallas. 
Although naturalists were long in a state of uncer- 
tainty with respect to the propriety of separating the 
Black Bear of America from the common species, it is 
obvious that their doubts could only have arisen from 
the want of sufficient materials for comparison. Who- 
ever has seen the two animals together will at once 
admit that they belong to species perfectly distinct, so 
greatly do they differ from each other in figure, in fur, 
in colour, and even in their gait, attitudes, and manners. 
The head of the American is narrower, with much more 
of the physiognomy of the Dog ; the distance between 
the ears is proportionally greater ; the forehead is more 
regularly convex, but not quite so much elevated, the 
line of the profile being continued without any depres- 
sion above the eyes, and the muzzle is more prominent 
