THE GNAWERS 



89 



remarkable of gnawers, the beaver (Fig. 71), which for- 

 merly was very common over a large area in America, but 

 is now becoming rarer every year. 



The beaver has a large, broad, flattened, scaled tail, — 

 perhaps the most singular caudal appendage known, — 

 which it uses as an organ of locomotion, as a rudder, and 

 for other purposes. There are five toes upon each foot, 

 the hinder ones being webbed as swimming organs. The 

 first white visitors to America found in New England and 



Fig. 71. — The Beaver. 



other states singular dams, erected with all the skill that 

 an engineer would employ. When told that the work was 

 performed by an animal, they did not believe it, but they 

 were soon convinced by seeing the beaver at work. 



Beavers are essentially water animals. They build their 

 homes or nests in the water, and dam up streams to pro- 

 duce just the effect and depth of water they wish. When 

 a locality has been selected, the beaver decides that deeper 

 water is necessary for its comfort and safety, and it lays 

 plans for a dam just as a man would. Large trees at the 

 side of the stream are gnawed off by the sharp, powerful 



