6 THE BEAVER 
used as hands and for digging. ‘The toes are not webbed. 
They are not used at all in swimming. 
Like the tail the beaver’s hind foot deserves a quite de- 
tailed description. It is large and webbed, looking some- 
thing like the foot of a goose, with long, strong toes, each 
with a good-sized nail. This web extends to the base of 
the toes. The foot from which this description was made 
was seven inches long, and could be spread out to a width 
of more than five. It was thinly haired, mainly of a dark 
slaty or chocolate color, with some brownish, especially on 
the part nearest the body. The third and fourth nails 
were the longest, over an inch in length, while the outer 
nail was five-eighths of an inch long. The two inner nails 
are greatly specialized, and have been called the ‘‘comb- 
ing claws.” 
The claw on the inner toe is formed of two well defined 
parts. ‘The upper is a quite normally formed and shaped 
nail, 4 inch wide and 2 inch long. Opposed to this, and 
smaller, is the other portion, which is not really a nail, 
but rather a soft lobe, though it does appear to have a 
little horny substance in it, this being especially noticeable 
along the edge. The surface opposed to the upper part is 
somewhat roughened or corrugated. These two parts of 
the nail are movable and close upon one another, so that if 
hair is drawn between them it will be thoroughly combed 
and cleaned. 
The second double claw is quite different from the first. 
It is a double claw, this feature being very noticeable. It 
has always been known to those who have had anything 
to do with beavers, while the double character of the outer 
claw has usually been overlooked. Both parts of this 
double claw or nail are of typical horny substance, the 
inner being the upper, and somewhat the longer, and more 
normally shaped. It is decidedly curved. It measured 
< by # inch in the specimen examined. 
