TWft Bift on ®t (Roches 



made on a quarter of the tree where it was incon- 

 venient for the cutter to work, seemed to indi- 

 cate a plan to fell the tree in a particular direc- 

 tion. In the other locality, I knew the attitude 

 of the trees before they were cut, and in this 

 instance the evidence was so complete and con- 

 clusive that I must believe the beaver that cut 

 down these trees endeavored to get them to fall 

 in a definite direction. In each of these cases, 

 however, judging chiefly from the teeth-marks, I 

 think the cuttings were done by the same beaver. 

 Many observations induce me to believe, how- 

 ever, that the majority of beaver do not plan how 

 the trees are to fall. 



Once a large tree is on the ground, the limbs 

 are trimmed off and the trunk is cut into sections 

 sufficiently small to be dragged, rolled, or pushed 

 to the water, where transportation is easy. 



The young beaver that I have seen cutting 

 trees have worked in leisurely manner, in con- 

 trast with the work of the old ones. After giving 

 a few bites, they usually stop to eat a piece of 

 the bark, or to stare listlessly around for a time. 

 As workers, young beaver appear at their best 



56 



