THE BEAVER. 43 



The species has also occurred in a semi-fossil con- 

 dition in Cambridgeshire,^ and at one time, it would 

 seem, this animal must have been common in the 

 eastern counties of England. Mr. Skertchley, in his 

 remarks on the prehistoric fauna of the Fens,f says, 

 " The remains of the Beaver are tolerably abundant 

 in the Fens ;" and further on he adds : " So far as 

 my observation goes, the Beaver did not build dams 

 in the Fens, owing, in all probability, to the abun- 

 dance of still water. The late J. K. Lord, an ex- 

 perienced trapper, remarked that in North America 

 the Beaver only constructs dams in running streams, 

 and chooses still water where possible, to save the 

 labour of architecture. " 



Mr. Henry Reeks, however, writing in December, 

 1879, states that if such is the case it is utterly 

 opposed to the habits of these animals as observed 

 by him in Newfoundland. He says " Newfoundland 

 is a vast lake district, abounding in ponds and lakes, 

 from a few hundred yards to many miles in length 

 and breadth ; Beavers also are still plentiful there. It 

 is, however, a fact that out of the hundreds of Beavers' 

 houses I saw there, none were built in ponds or lakes, 

 but invariably on the brooks running into or from 

 the lake. From my own observations, I do not 

 think it would accord with the economy of the 

 Beaver to build a house in still water, especially in 

 countries like Canada and Newfoundland where, 

 during the winter, there would probably be an 



* Jenyns' " British Vertebrate Animals," p. 34. 

 t " The Fenland, Past and Present," p. 348. 



