not often aggressive toward men. Those of Texas and Florida are by some regarded as separate species, but most naturalists consider them geographical varieties.
Possibly this is equally true of the small Glacier Bear, first described in 1895, which inhabits the Saint Elias Alps of the central coast region of Alaska; but this will probably be found a tenable ‘species.’ It is smaller than the average of black bears, and unique in its color, which is hoary gray, closely resembling that of a silver-fox, most nearly white on the under surfaces. “The fur is not very long, but remarkably soft, and with a rich under fur of a bluish-black shade, numbers of the long hairs being white” or white-tipped. The sides of the face are bright tan, and the claws are small, much curved, sharp, and black. Little is known as yet as to the special habits or food of this interesting little bear.
Bibliography. In addition to standard works, consult: Mivart, Proceedings Zoölogical Society of London (London, 1885); Blanford, Fauna of British India: Mammals (London, 1888); Pollok, Sport in British Burmah (London, 1879); Hornaday, Two Years in the Jungle (New York, 1886); Baker, Wild Beasts and their Ways (London, 1890); Sanderson, Thirteen Years Among Wild Beasts in India (London, 1893), and other books of East Indian travel and sport; Reid, Bruin, or the Grand Bear Hunt (London, 1860); Richardson, Fauna Boreali Americana (London, 1837), and Arctic explorations generally for the polar bear; Roosevelt, The Wilderness Hunter (New York, 1893); Proctor, Wild Beasts (New York, 1894); Ward, Century Magazine, Vol. I. (New York, 1882); Merriam, Proceedings Biological Society of Washington (Washington, 1896).
BEAR, Great and Little. See Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
BEAR ANIMALCULE, or WATER-BEAR. A minute creature related to the mites and other Arachnoids of the group Tardigrada (q.v.). These animals are generally found in wet moss or sand, often in company with rotifers.
BEAR-BAITING. A sport which consisted of setting a pack of dogs upon a bear, which was usually tied to a stake. It was an established amusement in many countries. In England it was known as early as the reign of Henry II., but was prohibited by Parliament in 1835. Queen Elizabeth not only allowed them the benefit of her royal patronage, but attended the bear-baitings in person. The Puritans hated the sport, “not because it gave pain to the bear,” as Macaulay has recorded, “but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” The place where bears were kept and publicly baited were called bear-gardens. “Looks like a bear-garden,” is a common English expression used to this day to designate any disarranged or ill-kept room or grounds.
BEAR′BER′RY. See Arctostaphylos.
BEARD. The hair which grows on the chin and cheeks of men. The beard is the distinctive sign of manhood, although exceptional instances occur of women with beards equal to those of men. The presence of the beard is an ethnological characteristic; it is found especially luxuriant among the Celtic and Slavic races, and scarcely at all among the North American aborigines, who customarily eradicate the few hairs which grow on their faces. It is usually the same color as the hair on the head, though shorter, stronger, and more wiry. In early times the beard was considered by almost all nations as a sign of strength and manhood, carefully cherished, and almost regarded as sacred. Its removal was regarded as a degrading punishment. (See II. Sam. x., for the case of David's ambassadors.) The Moslems have habitually observed a great care of the beard, carrying combs about with them for the purpose of dressing it. It is their custom to do so immediately after prayers, while still on their knees; the hairs that fall out are carefully picked up and preserved for burial with their owners. The practice of dyeing the beard was common among the Arabs and Persians; the former usually dyed it red, not only because dye of that color (being merely a paste of henna-leaves) was easily obtainable, but because it was an approximation to golden yellow, the color recommended by Mohammed, who hated black, the color preferred by the Persians. The Egyptians commonly shaved their beards, except in time of mourning; and an unkempt, neglected beard was also a sign of grief among the Jews. In Greece the beard was universally worn until the time of Alexander the Great, who ordered his soldiers to shave, that their enemies might not seize them by their beards in battle. Shaving was introduced among the Romans about the same time. Pliny says that Scipio Africanus was the first Roman who shaved every day. Subsequently, the first day of shaving (generally the twenty-second birthday) was regarded as the entrance upon manhood, and celebrated with great festivities. From the time of Hadrian to that of Constantine, the beard was again commonly worn. The ancient Germans, according to Tacitus, regarded a clean-shaven face as a sign of servitude, and the Lombards (Longobards) received their name from their long beards. The beard was commonly worn in France until the time of Louis XIII., when, the monarch being young and beardless, the fashion changed. French fashions in the matter have, in fact, usually followed that set by the monarch—an illustration of which is preserved in the English word ‘imperial’ for the little tuft on the chin. In like manner the loyal Spanish courtiers removed their beards on the accession of Philip V., who was unable to grow one. Peter the Great compelled shaving in Russia by positive enactment, imposing a tax on beards in proportion to the rank of the wearer. A similar tax was for a while imposed in England under Henry VIII. and Elizabeth; but fashion proved rebellious here, and the latter reign, with that of James I., was distinguished by a fantastic extravagance which clipped the beard into as many formal shapes as the old-fashioned box hedges. The Vandyke beard, familiar to us in the portraits of Charles I., characterized that period; but in the Eighteenth Century the smooth face became usual, so continuing until comparatively recent times. In fact, the wearing of a beard was regarded in the early part of the Nineteenth Century as a symbol of dangerous and revolutionary opinions, and as such was restricted by the police regulations of some European countries. The Roman Catholic clergy in modern times, although most of the mediæval
