of 



Not far away were scores of fire-killed trees, 

 both standing and fallen. "Surely," I said to 

 myself, when two dead chunks had been dragged 

 into place, "they are not going to use this dead 

 timber? " A beaver avoids gnawing dead wood ; 

 it is slow work, and besides is very hard on the 

 teeth. Most of these dead trees were incon- 

 veniently large, and were fire-hardened and full 

 of sand-filled weather-cracks; but contrary to 

 all my years of observation, they, after long, 

 hard labor, built an excellent dam from this 

 material. 



I have determined to do all I can to perpetu- 

 ate the beaver, and I wish I could interest every 

 man, woman, boy, and girl in the land to help 

 in this. Beaver works are so picturesque and so 

 useful to man that I trust this persistent prac- 

 ticer of conservation will not perish from the 

 hills and mountains of our land. His growing 

 scarcity is awakening some interest in him, and 

 I hope and half believe that before many years 

 every brook that is born on a great watershed 

 will, as it goes swiftly, merrily singing down the 



46 



