BEAVER

(Castor\ a genus of clavicula ted mammiferoua quadrupeds, of the order Rodent i a, or gnawers. — It is only in a state of nature that the beaver displays any of those singular modes of acting which have so long rendered the species celebrated. These may be summed up in a statement of the manner in which they secure a depth of water that cannot be frozen to the bottom, and their mode of constructing the huts in which they pa the winter. They are not particular as to the site which they select for the establishment of their dwellings, but if it is in a lake or pond, where a dam is not required, they are careful to build where the water is sufficiently deep. In standing waters, however, they have not the advantage afforded by a current for the transportation of Uieir supplies of wood, which, when tiiey build on a running stream, is always cut higher up than the place of their residence, and floated down. The materials used for the construction of their dams are the trunks and branches of small birch, mulberry, willow, and poplar trees, Ac They begin to cut down their timber for building early in the summer, but their edifices are not commenced until about the middle or latter part of Aug., and are not completed until the beginning of the cold season. The strength of their teeth, and their perseverance in this work, may be fairly estimated by the size of the trees they cut down. Dr. Best informs us that he has seen a mulberry tree eight inches in diameter, which had been gnawed down by the beaver. We were shown, while on the banks of the Little Miami River, several stumps of trees which had evidently been felled by these animals, of at least five or six inches in diameter. The trees are cut in such a way as to fall into the water, and then floated towards the site of the dam or dwellings. Small shrubs, ., cut at a distance, they drag with their teeth to the stream, and then launch and tow them to the place of deposit. At a short distance above a beaver dam the number of trees which have been cut down appears truly surprising, and the regularity of the stumps might lead persons unacquainted with the habits of the animals to believe that the clearing was the result of human industry. The figure of the dam varies according to circumstances. Should the current be very gentle, the <Iam is carried nearly straight acro ; but when the stream is swift, it is uniformly made with a considerable curve, having the convex part opposed to the current. Along %vith the trunks and branches of trees they intermingle mud and stones, to give greater security; and when dams have been long undisturbed and frequently repaired, they acquire great solidity, and their power of resisting the pres- Hure of water, ice, ., is greatly increased by the willow and birch occasionally taking root, and eventually growing up into something like a regular hedge. The materials used in constructing the dams are secured solely by the resting of the branches, . fl'^ainst the bottom, and the subsetjuent accumulation of mud and stones by the force of the stream or by the industry of the beavers. The dwellings of the beavers are formed of the same materials as their dams, are very rude, and adapted in size to the number of their inhabitants: seldom more than four old, or six or eight young ones, are found in one of the lodges, though double that number have been sometimes seen. In building their houses they place most of the wood cro wise, and nearly horizontally, observing no other order than that of leaving a cavity in the middle. Branches projecting inwards are cut off with their teeth, and thrown among the rest. The houses are not of sticks, and then plastered, but of all the materials used in the dams — sticks, mud, and stones, if the latter can be procured. This composition is employed from the foundation to the summit, llie mud is obtained from the adjacent banks or bottom of the stream or pond near the door of the hut The beaver always carries mud or stones by holding them between his fore paws and throat. Their work is all performed at night, and with much expedition. When straw or gra is mingled with the mud used in building, it is an accident owing to the nature of the spot whence the mud is obtain^. As soon as any portion of the materials is placed, they turn round and give it a smart blow with the tail. The same sort of blow is struck by them on the surface of the water when they are in the act of diving. The outside of the hut is covered or plastered with mud late in the autumn, and after frost has begun to appear. By freezing it soon becomes almost as hard as stone, eff ec« tually excluding their great enemy the wolverene during the winter. Their habit of walking over the work frequently has led to the absurd idea of their using the tail as a trowel. The houses are generally from 4 to 6 feet thick at the apex of the cone; some have been found as much as 8 feet thick at top. The door or entrance is always on the side farthest from land, and is near the foundation or a considerable depth under water: this is the only opening into the hut. The large houses are sometimes found to have projections of the main building thrown out, for the better support of the roof, and this circumstance has led to all the stories of the different apartments in beaver huts. These larger edifices, so far from having several apartments, are double or treble houses, the parts having no communication except by water. It is a fact, that the musk-rat is sometimes found to have taken lodgings in the huts of the beaver. The otter also occasionally intrudes: he, however, is a dangerous g^est, for, should provisions grow scarce, it is not uncommon for him to devour his host. All the beavers of a community do not co-operate in fabricating houses for the common use of the whole. The only affair in which they have a joint interest, and upon which they labour in concert, is the dam. Beavers also make excavations in the adjacent banks, at regular distances from each other, which have been called washes, lliese are so enlarged within, that the beaver can raise his head above water to breathe without being seen, and when disturbed at their huts they immediately swim under water to these washes for greater security, where they are easily taken by the hunters. The food of the beaver consists chiefly of the bark of the aspen, willow, birch, poplar, and occasionally alder: to the pine it rarely resorts, unle from severe nece ity. They provide a stock of wood from the trees fir»t mentioned during summer, and place it in the water opposite the entrance into their houses. The beaver produces from two to five at a litter. It is a cleanly animal, and always performs its evacuations in the water at a distance from the hut: hence no accumulation of filth is found near their dwellings. The beaver is about two feet in length; its body thick and heavy; the head compre ed, and somewhat arched at the front, the upper part rather row; the snout much so. The eyes are pUoed rather high on the head, and the pupils are rounded; ears are short, elliptical, and almost concealed by fur. The skin is covered by two sorts of hair, which one is long, rather stiff, elastic, and of a colour for two-thirds of its length next the base, terminated by shining, reddish-brown points; other is short, thick, tiifted, and soft, being of ferent shades of silver-gray or light lead colour. hair is shortest on the head and feet. The hind are longer than the fore, and are oompletiely webbed. The tail is ten or eleven inches long, and, except part nearest the body, is covered with hexagonal scales. The part next the body is covered with like that on tiie back. The beaver was formerly inhabitant of Britain, but has long been extinct is still found in some parts of Europe, such as way, and in the northern parts of Asia. 119