44 



MAMMALIA EODENTIA DIAGRAM 3. 



The Water-rat is less injurious, but it nevertheless destroys the 

 banks of rivers and ponds to dig its burrow. 



The BEAVER is one of the largest known rodents ; it can 

 soon cut down a tree with its teeth. It is also remarkable 



for its flattened tail, 

 covered with scales. It 

 is celebrated for the 

 huts which it builds. 

 Beavers have been 

 extinct in England 

 for 600 years ; but 

 are still found in 

 France on the banks 

 of the Rhone. They 

 only build long 

 Beaver, burrows there ; and 



it is in the lonely rivers of North America that they build their 

 villages. Several families join, and when the situation is chosen, 

 the beavers come to shore to cut down the branches and trees 

 which they require ; they throw them into the water, and float 

 them down to a convenient spot. Then they make dwellings of 

 these branches mixed with earth, sometimes of a considerable 

 size, in which they all live together. They are unfortunately 

 becoming rarer and rarer. Beaver fur is one of the most 

 valuable of furs, and the hunters kill them in large numbers. 

 This fur was long used to make beaver hats, but silk and other 

 materials are now generally employed instead. 



The GUINEA PIG is a small rodent which is a native of South 

 America, but which is now acclimatised with us. As it is almost 

 defenceless, it could not live in a wild state, but it is easily reared 

 in captivity, and it breeds very fast. 



The PORCUPINE is a rodent nearly as large as the beaver, but 

 with the sluggish habits of the marmot. It owes its name to the 

 fine black and white quills which grow on its back. Some of 

 these animals are met with in the South of France. 



