26 DIMINUTIVE BEAVERS 



finger and cut them up into irregular lengths, as if 

 contemplating the construction of a darn* 



The destructive industry revealed by the melting 

 snow is phenomenal. The Sassafras has been one 

 of the chief sufferers, its aromatic bark being a special 

 temptation to the little marauders. Many promising 

 young trees are completely girdled, and the deep 

 abrasions extend in irregular patches up their 

 trunks to the winter snow line. These mutilations 

 show countless diminutive tooth-marks and tell of 

 the voracious energy of the tireless rodents. They 

 have not been content with gnawing at the odorous 

 bark of the Sassafras. The white wood of the Alder 

 shows in irregular girdling patches, contrasting with 

 the smooth black bark. The Sumach, too, an unusual 

 article of diet, has served for much feasting under the 

 snow. The smaller branches, buried within reach, 

 have been cut up into irregular short lengths and lie 

 about in careless piles. All the bark has been eaten 

 from these little logs, and the wood is often gnawed 

 away to the soft pith. Where the piles lie in the dead 

 grass there are well-preserved remains of comfortable 

 nests under the snow, and regular runways are still 

 clearly marked in the frozen ground. The Wild 

 Raspberry is a still more unusual article of diet, and 

 suggests a world of trouble over the problem of a 

 food supply during the long winter. Many of the 

 bushes have been cut down, and the bark and even 



