THK HhlAVKR IN ITS RELATION TO Fc^RESTRY. 29 



of tlie most vukuiMe timber trees, hut contents it>elf with the 

 l)ir(;h, willow, poplar, and alder, the least valuable. The loss 

 from both these sources must prove trifling when compared with 

 the gain to the {"ore.'t and country as a whole. 



Another objeciion is the annoyance so many dams may cause 

 tiie lumbeinnin who must break, oi' remove them from floatable 

 streams. As pointed out aliove, the beaver, if unmolested, finds 

 its favorite honif' on streams and brooks which are generally 

 too small for driving purposes, and it is only when relentlessly 

 hunted and i)ersecuted by man that its wonderful intelligence 

 has di-iven it to occupy the larger streams where it can more 

 readily circumvent the wiles of its enemies. 



Every lover of nature and intelligence displayed in nature, 

 must, ai)art from the mere question of utility, long to see the pro- 

 tecting hand of man extended to this wonderful architect of the 

 forest, whose wisdt)m, skill, and industry have made it an 

 attractive subject for the moralist and scientist. But when it is 

 found, on probing the secrets t)f its busy life, that it is doing a 

 mighty work, laying the foundation of forest greatness and 

 wealth, contril)Uting to the productive energies of nature on all 

 sides; building up the rich intervales of valleys with material 

 which must otherwise \)V lost in the sea; feeding the summer 

 channels of rivers with a bountiful supply of cool, refreshing 

 waters that invite inland the numerous finny tribes of the sea; 

 and transforming what sad experience shows may become a 

 barren, into all the glory of the primeval forest, then should the 

 admirers of nature join with the votaries of science and business 

 in demanding a {jerpetual close season for the beaver. 



