Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/477

Rh and used as food for cattle. The shells of the carob bean contain a large proportion of sugar, and are often con sumed as a dainty by children. These beans were formerly supposed to be the locusts eaten by John the Baptist, and hence have been called St John s bread. The Tonka, or Tonquin bean, is the produce of Dipterix odorata, a legu minous seed with a fine odour, used in perfumery and largely for scenting snuff. The Calabar ordeal bean is a highly poisonous leguminous seed. There are also several non-leguminous seeds to which the popular name bean is attached. Among these may be mentioned the sacred Egyptian or Pvthagorean bean (Nelumbium, speciosum), and the Ignatius bean (probably Strychnos multiflora), a source of strychnine. For the cultivation, &c., of the common bean, see AGRICULTURE, vol. i. p. 360. The ancient Greeks and Romans made use of beans in gather ing the votes of the people, and for the election of magis trates. A white bean signified absolution, and a black one condemnation. Beans had a mysterious use in the lemuralia and parentalia, where the master of the family, after washing his hands three times, threw black beans over his head nine times, continuing to repeat the words, &quot; I redeem myself and my family by these beans.&quot;

 BEAR, the common name of the Ursidcv, a typical family of Plantigrade Mammals, distinguished by their massive bodies, short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails. With the single exception of the Honey Bear, all the species have forty-two teeth, of^which the incisors and canines closely resemble those of the purely carnivorous mammals ; while the molars, and especially that known as the &quot; carnassial,&quot; have their surfaces tuberculated so as to adapt them for grinding vegetable substances. As might have been sup posed from their dentition, the bears are truly omnivorous ; but most of the family ssem to prefer vegetable food, including honey, when a sufficient supply of this can be had. The Grizzly Bear, however, is chiefly carnivorous ; while the Polar Bear, in a state of nature, is believed to be almost wholly so. The strength and ferocity of different species and of different individuals of the same species seem to depend largely on the nature of their diet, those restricted to purely vegetable food showing an approach to that mildness of disposition characteristic of herbivorous animals. Bears are five-toed, and are provided with formidable claws, but these are not retractile as in the cats, and are thus better fitted for digging and climbing than for tearing. Most of the bears climb trees, which they do in a slow, lumbering fashion, and, in descending, always come hind quarters first. The Grizzly Bear is said to lose this power of climbing in the adult state. In northern countries the bear retires during the winter season into caves and the hollows of trees, or allows the falling snow to cover it, where it remains dormant till the advent of spring, about which time the female usually produces her young. These are born naked and blind, and it is commonly five weeks before they see, or become covered with hair. Before hibernating they grow very fat, and it is by the gradual consumption of this fat known in commerce as bear s grease that such vital action as is necessary to the continuance of life is sustained. The bear family is widely distributed, being found in every quarter of the globe except Australia, and in all climates, from the highest northern latitudes yet reached by man to the warm regions of India and Malaya. In the north-west corner of Africa the single representative of the family found on that continent occurs. Of the remaining species described in Gray s recent monograph of this family, three are European, six American, and eight Asiatic ; while one species the Polar Bear is common to the Arctic regions of both hemispheres. In addition to these, the best known species are peculiarly rich in varieties. Bears have been recently divided into three groups, sea bears, land bears, and honey bears.

(1.) Sea bears, of which the Polar or White Bear (Thalassarctos maritimu-s) is the only species known, are dis tinguished from the other groups by having the soles of the feet covered with close-set hairs, a beautiful instance of special adaptation to the wants of the creature, the bear being thereby enabled to walk more securely on the slippery ice. In the whiteness of its fur also, it shows such an assimilation in colour to that of surrounding nature as must be of considerable service in concealing it from its prey. The food of the White Bear consists chiefly of seals and fish, in pursuit of which it shows great power of swimming and diving, and a considerable degree of saga city. It also feeds on the carcases of whales, and on birds and their eggs, and is said to eat berries when these can be had. That it can sustain life on a purely vegetable diet is proved by instances on record of its being fed for years on bread only, in confinement. These bears are strong swim mers, Captain Sabine having found one &quot; swimming powerfully forty miles from the nearest shore, and with no ice in sight to afford it rest.&quot; They are often carried on floating ice to great distances, and to more southern lati tudes than their own, no fewer than twelve Polar bears having been known to reach Iceland in this way during one winter. The female always hibernates, but the male may be seen abroad at all seasons. In bulk the White Bear exceeds all other members of the family, measuring nearly 9 feet in length, and often weighing 1GOO B&amp;gt;.

(2.) Land bears have the soles of the feet destitute of hair, and their fur more or less shaggy. Of these the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos, &quot;Ap/eros of Aristotle) is found in one or other of its varieties all over the temperate and north temperate regions of the eastern hemisphere, from Spain to Japan. Its fur is usually of a brownish colour, but there are black, blackish-grey, and yellowish varieties. It is a solitary animal, frequenting the wooded parts of the regions it inhabits, and living on a mixed diet of fruits, vegetables, honey, and the smaller animals. In winter it hibernates, concealing itself in some hollow or cavern. It does not seek to attack man; but when baited, or in defence of its young, it shows great courage and strength, rising on its hind legs and endeavouring to grasp its antagonist in an embrace. Bear-baiting, till within comparatively recent times, was a favourite sport throughout Europe, but along with cock- fighting and badger-baiting, has gradually disappeared before a more humane civilization. It was a favourite pastime among the Romans, who imported their bears from Britain, a proof that the animal was then comparatively abundant in that country ; indeed, from reference made to it in early Scottish history, the bear does not appear to have been extirpated in Britain before the end of the llth century. It is now found in greatest abundance in Norway, Russia, and Siberia, where the bear hunt is the favourite sport, and where, when dead, its remains are highly valued. Among the Kamchatkans &quot;the skin of the bear,&quot; says a traveller, &quot; forms their beds and their coverlets, bonnets for their heads, gloves for their hands, and collars for their dogs. The flesh and fat are their dainties. Of the intestines they make masks or covers for their faces, to protect them from the glare of the sun in the spring, and use them as a substitute for glass, by extending them over their windows. Even the shoulder-blades are said to be put in requisition for cutting grass.&quot; In confinement the Brown Bear is readily tamed ; and advantage has been taken of the facility with which it can sustain itself on the hind feet to teach it u&amp;gt; dance to the sound of music. It measures 4 feet in length, and is about 2½ feet high.

The American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) occurs