SUBSISTENCE OF BEAVERS. 183 



wood as well as bark/ but the former fact appears to 

 have been overlooked in the more recent articles upon 

 this animal, until the statement became general that 

 he lived upon bark and the roots of certain plants. 

 The three beavers sent down for dissection last win- 

 ter were taken in February and March, at the time 

 when, their store of provisions being the lowest, they 

 might, if ever, be expected to eat clear wood. Dr. 

 Ely found their stomachs filled with lignine, with a 

 slight intermixture of the tendrils of forest trees, and 

 no perceptible remains of bark. The comminuted 

 particles were so clearly of wood as to leave no doubt 

 upon the question. The contents of the csecum dis- 

 closed the same fact, as the digestive process simply 

 removed the saccharine materials from the wood. At 

 the same time the beavers were in excellent condition. 

 Trees are often found in the spring gnawed around, 

 and no chips at the foot. It was evident from the 

 leaves that the work was done after the sap had 

 started, and for the purpose of eating the wood. 

 Additional evidence, tending to confirm the fact of 

 wood-eating, may be derived from a comparison of 

 the amount of bark upon the usual stock of winter 

 cuttings with the necessary wants of a beaver family 

 of six or eight individuals. It would afford to each 

 but a small amount of sustenance. 



While it is generally understood that beavers 

 never eat the bark of evergreen trees, for which 

 they have an aversion, they sometimes cut them 

 down; and it may be done for the purpose of eat- 



^ M. Sarrasin, Histoirc dc I'Academie Royale dcs Sciences. 

 Annee 1104. 



