THE BEAVER. 37 
vonshire, is supposed by the natives to be a cor- 
ruption from Nant yr afancwm, or the Vale of the 
Beavers.” 
Owen, in his Welsh Dictionary (1801), says that it 
has been “seen in this valley within the memory of 
man;” but says Si Richard Hoare, “I am much 
inclined to think that ‘Avane’ or ‘Afange’ is nothing 
more than an obsolete or perhaps local name for the 
common Otter, an animal exceedingly well known 
in all our lakes and rivers, and the recognition of 
it by Mr. Owen considerably strengthens my sup- 
position. A/fancwm is evidently the plural of Afang?, 
composed of the words Afan, a corrupt pronuncia- 
tion of Afon (a river), and Ci (a dog), synonymous, as 
I conceive, with Dy/frgi (the water-dog), which is the 
common appellation of the Otter amongst the Welsh. 
The term ‘ L/ostlydan,’ or broad-tail, from Lost (tail) 
and L[lydan (broad), appears to be more immediately 
applicable to the character of the Beaver as described 
by naturalists, and is equally authorized by the Welsh 
Dictionaries, though not so often used as Afangce.’* 
Upon this we would remark that, while it is pretty 
certain that the animal seen, according to Owen, 
“within the memory of man,” was the Otter, the 
minute description given by Giraldus shows that the 
animal to which he referred was the Beaver. 
Describing the river Lleder at its junction with 
the Conway, Wood says :+|—“ From a more westerly 
course the Conway here turns nearly due north, and 
* “Ttinerary,” ed. Hoare, vol. i. pp. 55-57. 
+ “The Principal Rivers of Wales Illustrated.” 4to, 1813, part i. 
Pp. 239. 
D2 
