THE BEAVER. 43 
The species has also occurred in a semi-fossil con- 
dition in Cambridgeshire,* and at one time, it would 
seem, this animal must have been common in the 
eastern counties of England. Mr. Skertchley, in his 
remarks on the prehistoric fauna of the Fens,t says, 
‘The remains of the Beaver are tolerably abundant 
? 
in the Fens ;’ and further on he adds: ‘So far as 
my observation goes, the Beaver did not build dams 
in the Fens, owing, in all probability, to the abun- 
dance of still water. The late J. K. Lord, an ex- 
perienced trapper, remarked that in North America 
the Beaver only constructs dams in running streams, 
and chooses still water where possible, to save the 
labour of architecture.” 
Mr. Henry Reeks, however, writing in December, 
1879, states that if such is the case it is utterly 
opposed to the habits of these animals as observed 
by him in Newfoundland. He says ‘“‘ Newfoundland 
is a vast lake district, abounding in ponds and lakes, 
from a few hundred yards to many miles in length 
and breadth ; Beavers also are still plentiful there. It 
is, however, a fact that out of the hundreds of Beavers’ 
houses I saw there, none were built in ponds or lakes, 
but invariably on the brooks running into or from 
the lake. From my own observations, I do not 
think it would accord with the economy of the 
Beaver to build a house in still water, especially in 
countries like Canada and Newfoundland—where, 
during the winter, there would probably be an 
* Jenyns’ “ British Vertebrate Animals,” p. 34. 
+ “The Fenland, Past and Present,” p. 348. 
