122 THE REASON WHY: 



" I was surprised at all this civility, and knew not to what I 

 might ascribe it, except to my bright beater and shining scarf 

 that were new that day." THE TATLZ*. 



broad, flattened, and protected anteriorly by a layer of orange- 

 floured enamel, the rest of the tooth being of a comparatively soft 

 substance, where a cutting chisel-like edge is obtained. 



378. Not only does the beaver use its teeth with wonderful instinct, but the 

 method adopted in the application of these instruments is equally remarkable. It 

 begins the business of felling by gnawing round the branch of a tree ; but, in order 

 to save itself a great deal of work, and! to overcome an otherwise insuperable 

 difficulty for it is necessary that the branch should fall across the stream, that it 

 may float with the current the beaver operates mostly on one side, and that always 

 on the right one, and gnaws nearly through that side, leaving the other almost un- 

 touched. The branches cut down are sometimes of considerable thickness, and th* 

 beavers select those which stand up the stream, from tbe place of their habitations-, 

 not those below it, because, in the latter case, they could not haul them up 

 against the current. 



The bearer presents one of the strongest m&tances of instinctive sagacity a:x? 

 industry which can be met with in the animal creation. It is gregarious, living in 

 societies of two or three hundred, whose labours are employed for the general good, 

 and their settlements are made either in ponds so deep as not to allow of their bein^ 

 frozen to the bottom, and which have a stream of water running through them, *>r 

 in rivers themselves. Having determined on the place in which to erect their habi 

 tations, the first business consists in forming a dam ; and for this purpose they stop 

 the stream hi the most favourable place for their operations. The dam is raised bj 

 driving stakes of five or six feet length into the ground at diffeicnt distances, inter- 

 weaving them with branches of trees, and filling up the interstices with clay, stones, 

 and sand, which they ram down very firmly icitk their tails ; the foundation of tbe 

 dam is ten or twelve feet thick, the top is not more than two or three feet broad, 

 presenting a perpendicular face to the stream, whilst the slope is placed on .the 

 outside, where, as grass grows, the dam is rendered more solid. In this way they 

 build a dam not unfrequently a hundred feet in length. Within the embankment 

 near the edge of the shore are built the houses, which are from ten to twenty-five 

 in number ; these are raised upon piles, and sometimes consist of two or three 

 Tories, for the convenience of change in case of ftoods. The houses are of a round 

 or oval form, with a vaulted roof; the walls about two feet thick, formed of earth, 

 stones, and sticks, but neatly plastered within, and to each are two entrances, one 

 towards the water, and the other facing the land. Their height above the water is 

 about eight feet. In one habitation reside from two to thirty beavers, each animal 

 having its own bed of moss, and each family its own winter stock of provisions, 

 consisting of the bark and small branches of trees, which are kept in the water and 

 fetched within as required. 



"To effect these works," says Pennant, "a community of two or three 

 hundred assembles ; each bears his share of the labour ; some fell, by gnawing with 

 their teeth, trees of great size, to form beams or piles , these are gnawed all round 



