458 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



westward from the second pond. It is the highway to the 

 feeding grounds; is about i8 inches deep up to the fork, be- 

 yond which it is but 12 inches deep. It is clean cut with sharp, 

 hard edges, and has a most artificial look. It ends abruptly at 

 the foot of the bank, and then the path, sharply defined, continues 

 on to the woods, 145 feet farther on and 30 feet higher up. 



Morgan describes and illustrates three good examples of 

 canals found near Marquette, Mich. These are 365 feet, 523 

 feet, and 579 feet long, respectively. All are 2 to 3 feet wide and 

 have throughout about 18 inches of water. All lead from the 

 residential pond to the feeding grounds (a, h and c, Fig. 131). 



{a) The first of these,^^ 365 feet long, reaches to the foot 

 of a hill and then forks as shown. These forks are the re- 

 markable feature of this; "their construction along the base 

 of the high ground gives them a frontage upon the canal of 215 

 feet of hardwood lands, thus affording to them along this 

 extended line the great advantages of water transport for their 

 cuttings. "^^ 



{h) The other two are remarkable, not only on account 

 of their length, but because also of their locks. These are 

 best illustrated in the 523-footer.^^ Each lock is a low dam 

 making a foot rise in water level; over these the logs are 

 dragged. While the main canal is supplied with water from 

 the pond, the locks are fed with rain water gathered by the 

 142-foot dam next the swamp. 



The 579-foot canaP" has the same general plan as the 

 other, with two locks, but it adds an important feature, namely, 

 a wing-dam set at such an angle into the river that it deflects 

 water enough to keep the canal well filled. 



The longest canal I ever examined was a very old one at 

 Gal Pond, near Wanakena,St. Lawrence County, Adirondacks, 

 N. Y., August 4, 1908. It was 654 feet long, nearly 4 feet 

 wide, and led from the pond to a grove of poplar and yellow 

 birch. Although abandoned for fully fifty years it was very 

 well marked and showed many Beaver cuttings. 



^^ Am., Beaver, p. 197. '^ /^^-^^ p. j^g. 



'^ Ibid., p. 196. =0 Ihid., p. 200. 



