68 Di'tihlera/a in tlic Nafnidl Hiatori/ 



Note B. — On the Beaver. 



The beaver of Europe lias been considered by some autbors as a differ- 

 ent species from tbc American beaver ; according to others, it is a mere 

 variety of the Castor fiber, which is thus scattered over the cold and tem- 

 perate parts of the two continents ; according to others again, and M. 

 Cuvier is among this number, the question is a doubtful one. The pos- 

 session of the beavers of the north of Europe, in particular, of Scandinavia 

 and Russia, and their comparison with those of France and Germany, and 

 at the same time with those of America, can alone furnish the means of 

 solving these doubts. 



The young, even those of France and the United States, are still un- 

 known to us. Wc are equally in want of j^recise information regarding 

 the changes of the fur at different seasons. Lastly, I recommend to the 

 attention of zoologists of the expedition the white beavers, which are said 

 to be almost common in Lapland. Do they continue so at all seasons ? 

 Or, rather, do a greater or less number of individuals become white in 

 winter ? 



But, of all the questions that attach to the natural history of the beaver, 

 undoubtedly the most interesting is that referring to its manners,. about 

 which much remains to be learned, notwithstanding all that has been al- 

 ready collected on the subject. It is now known to every one, that the 

 beaver docs not construct a habitation in every country where it occurs ; 

 but we arc not equally well acquainted with all the differences of its man- 

 ners, according to the countries. \\\ certain localities, for example, on 

 the banks of the Rhone, Gardon, Danube, Rhine, Weser, Lena and 

 Yenisei, it lives solitarily in burrows of a very simple construction, and 

 its industry- seems scarcely to surpass that of our water-rat. In other 

 places, and even at times in the same place, particularly on the Lena and 

 Yenisei, it assembles in family groups, or even associates in numerous 

 tribes, then forming what is sometimes caWQ^ACommunitii of beavers. Its 

 burrows are then more extensive, complicated, and more skilfully con- 

 structed. Lastly, in North America, united in communities, it forms not 

 only burrows, but, as every one knows, little huts constructed with infi- 

 nite art, often protected by immense mounds, to which no other gnawer 

 (with the exception of the Ondatra) presents any thing comparable. 



Does the beaver of Norway, and that of Lapland, live solitary, in fami- 

 lies, or in communities .'' What degree of industry do they shew in the 

 construction of their habitations .'' The incomplete information we now 

 have seems to shew, that the beavers of the north live in many places in 

 communities, and display much art in forming their burrows on the banks 

 of rivers ; but we know not if communities exist equally in Norway and 

 Lapland ; how many individuals they usuallj' contain ; in what places 

 the solitary beavers, or those which assemble in families only, reside ; 

 what variations their bun-ows present in form, dimensions, and disposi- 



