TJie Home of the Wolverene and Beaver. 7 1 



most fertile patches of land in Canada arc due to 

 the beavers. Trees, branches, dead leaves, and 

 stones are borne down by the water and stopped 

 by the dam, which in course of time becomes a 

 solid mass of many acres in extent, clothed with 

 a rich vegetation, and in every way adapted to 

 the farmer, by whom these " beaver meadows " as 

 they are termed, are highly prized. 



The houses or " lodges " in which the beavers 

 dwell are as curious as the dam, in the vicinity of 

 which they usually stand. The larger ones are, 

 in the interior, about seven feet in diameter and 

 between two and three feet in height, resembling 

 in fact, a great oven. These are placed either at the 

 edge of, or in the water, and in front of them the 

 beavers scratch away a deep trench, so deep that 

 all fear of the water becoming frozen is removed, 

 and in this the wood mentioned above, as intended 

 for winter food, is stored, and this channel also 

 affords them free access to their dam, should they 

 require to visit it for repairs or any other purpose. 

 The top of the lodge is formed by placing branches 

 of trees matted with moss, mud, grasses, &c., to- 

 gether, until the whole fabric measures on the 

 outside from twelve to twenty feet in diameter, 

 and is six or eight feet high, according to the 

 number of inhabitants. The outer coating is 



