180 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. 



and abandoned. In moving cuttings of this descrip- 

 tion, they are quite ingenious. They shove and roll 

 them with their hips, using also their legs and tails 

 as levers, moving sideways in the act. In this man- 

 ner they move the larger pieces from the more or less 

 elevated ground, on which the deciduous trees are 

 found, over the uneven but generally descending sur- 

 face to the pond. The tree cuttings are usually 

 within a few rods of the water, and are rarely found 

 at any great distance unless upon side hills which 

 favor their easy descent. After one of these cuttings 

 has been transported to the water, a beaver, placing 

 one end of it under his throat, pushes it before him to 

 the place where it is to be sunk. How they sink 

 them is a question. The yellow birch, when fresh 

 cut, is of nearly the same specific gravity as water. 

 On trying the experiment with a piece of the size of 

 an ordinary cutting, I found that it would barely 

 float, the whole of it becoming submerged except a 

 small portion at one. end. It was evident that a few 

 hours of soakage would carry it to the bottom. It is 

 sufficient to state the fact that piles of these cuttings 

 are found, late in the fall, sunk near their lodges in the 

 ponds, — except where brush piles are found, the uses 

 of which will hereafter be explained. In amount 

 they vary from one-quarter to three-quarters of a cord, 

 while in occasional instances a full cord has been 

 found. Pole cuttings, short bits, and brush are 

 dragged to the water with their teeth, and are gener- 

 ally moved through the water held in the same man- 

 ner. In swimming, the upper part of the head and a 

 small part of the shoulders only are out of water; so 

 that they are often seen with a stick or piece of brush 



