00
acres--in raising and draining manure for a top-dressing to the land,
they would not do it so effectually, so equally, and so neatly, as the
natural number of moles on the farm would do for themselves."

Moles are said to be very ferocious animals; and, as an evidence of
this, we are told that a mole, a toad, and a viper, were enclosed in a
glass case; the mole despatched the other two, and devoured a great
part of both of them.

THE BEAR.

Of this animal there are many species; among which, the white bear of
the polar regions, and the grisly bear of the eastern slope of the
Rocky Mountains, are the largest and most formidable. The brown bear is
common to both continents. The most remarkable of the other species are
the Bornean, spectacled, large-lipped, Thibetian, and Malayan.

The BROWN or BLACK BEAR.--_Miscellaneous Anecdotes._--This species,
like the rest of the family, is a solitary animal; for he only remains
associated with his mate for a short period, and then retires to his
winter retreat, which is usually in the hole of a rock, the cavity of a
tree, or a pit in the earth, which the animal frequently digs for
himself. He sometimes constructs a kind of hut, composed of the
branches of trees, which he lines with moss. In these situations he
continues, for the most part, in a lethargic state, taking no food, but
subsisting entirely on the absorption of the fat which he has
accumulated in the course of the summer.

The modes that are adopted, by the inhabitants of different countries,
for taking or destroying bears, are various. Of these, the following
appear to be the most remarkable: In consequence of the well-known
partiality of these animals for honey, the Russians sometimes fix to
those trees where bees are hived a heavy log of wood, at the end of a
long string. When the unwieldy creature climbs up, to get at the hive,
he finds himself interrupted by the log; he pushes it aside, and
attempts to pass it; but, in returning, it hits him such a blow, that,
in a rage, he flings it from him with greater force, which makes it
return with increased violence; and he sometimes continues this, till
he is either killed, or falls from the tree.

In Lapland, hunting the bear is often undertaken by a single man, who,
having discovered the retreat of the animal, takes his dog along with
him, and advances towards the spot. The jaws are tied round with a
cord, to prevent his barking; and the man holds the other end