and as this is a complex liquid contain- 
ing water, fat, protein, calcium, phos- 
phoric acid and salts, the physiologi- 
cal chemistry of its continued produc- 
tion without food of any kind, must be 
amazingly complicated and draw on 
about every tissue in the bear’s body. 
In this change from solid flesh to fluid 
milk the breaking down of tissue must 
evolve much waste in the form of car- 
bonic acid gas which cannot escape 
from the circulation, therefore the 
mother bear remains drunk, and if 
anything, more drunken than the 
male. 
A certain degree of cold is neces- 
sary I am sure before a bear can hi- 
bernate, but he is a warm-blooded ani- 
mal always. I have seen them in their 
dens with the mercury thirty degrees 
below zero, shivering like a Chinaman 
in an ague, and yet to my touch they 
were as warm as toast, but their stu- 
por was such that I could only arouse 
them to the point of turning over in 
their nest by the most vigorous prod- 
ding with a sharp stick—“drunk as a 
lord.” 
It is supposed by many that a bear 
is poor when he comes out of his den 
in the spring, but this is a mistake 
for he actually has more fat under 
his woolly hide than when he went 
into winter quarters, because of the 
metamorphosis of a portion of the 
lean flesh to fat, but a few days out- 
side on fresh young clover or other 
scouring grass, and his “backdoor 
quickstep” will have reduced him to 
a condition equal to that of Job’s pov- 
erty stricken turkey. 
In discussing the habits of bears I 
have heard old hunters and trappers 
dwell upon the marvelous fact that 
a bear never soils his den with ordure 
nor urine, which is a fact of course, 
for the simple reason that where no 
waste is elaborated none can be voided. 
He couldn’t soil his den if he wanted 
to ever so badly because no waste 
accumulates in either the bowels or 
bladder during hibernation. 
My star witness in the phenomenon 
of hibernation was a large black fe- 
male bear. I found her one day while 
looking for a suitable place to set a 
trap as I strung out a new line for 
marten, fisher and fox. The snow was 
between six and seven feet deep on 
the mountain where I was, and I had 
to look carefully for the tree cavities 
in which we usually set our traps. 
A huge white fir stood on a point 
just ahead of me and I made for it, 
having learned from experience that 
trees of that variety almost invariably 
had burned-out cavities in the butt. 
As I skeed up to it I noticed that the 
contour of it on my side was smooth 
and unbroken. There was no cavity 
there, but when I came around on the 
other side of it I saw a hole burned 
Every Man and Boy 
Wants this Equipment 
Any man or boy will be tickled 
toown Marble’s Game Getter 
Gun. It’s both rifle and shotgun— ‘gam ' 
upper barrel .22 cal., rifled; lower barrel .44 
cal. and .410 ga., smooth bore, for shot, or round 
ball. A reliable .22 for birds, rabbits, etc.—the 
smooth bored barrel almost equals a 28 ga. 
shotgun. 
Prices: Tax and Fine Weather Holster Included 
12 in. barrel $25.50; 15 in. $27.00; 18 in. $28.50 
Carry one and always havea 
Waterproof Matchbox. light—keeps matches bone 
dry, even under water. Seamless brass, nickled—size little 
over 34” inside diameter List price yen 116 fee 
. All-purpose knife for every use—4% in. blade 
Woodcraft Knife. finest steel, checkered at back to give firm grip. 
Thousands of Boy Scouts and outdoor sportsmen own these knives. List 
price, including fine leather sheath—No. 49, Leather handle, $2.25. 
No. 50, Staghorn Handle, $3.00. 
Handiest tool made—guard folds 
Safety Pocket Axe. into handle. Easily carried in 
pocket or belt—every 
outdoor man and 
boy wants it. No. 
2, 11 in. steel handle, 
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hickory handle, $2.00. 
Most dealers sell Marble’s Outing Equipment—if your dealer can’t 
supply you, order direct. Ask for interesting catalog. 
Marble Arms & Mfg. Co. 
526 Delta Avenue Gladstone, Mich. 
MARBLES Equipment 
FOR EVERY er} ) -IN THE OPEN 





J. P. SAUER & SON 
“WORLD FAMOUS” 
Sporting Shot Guns, Sauer-Mauser Rifles, 
Automatic Pistols 
For over one hundred and seventy-three years the Standard of Quality. 
PRE-WAR QUALITY AT PRE-WAR PRICES 
These well-known guns are once more available to American Sportsmen. 
Address Sole U. S. Agents 
THE MILFORD COMPANY Milford, Delaware 

Page 749 In writing to Advertisers mention Forest and Stream. It will identify you. 




