THE BEAVER. 115 



contained in two bladders* It is pretended that the Bea- 

 vers extract the liquid which is contained in these blad- 

 ders, by pressing them with the foot ; and that it gives 

 them an appetite when they are averse to food. The 

 truth, however, seems to be, that the animal uses this liquid 

 in order to grease its tail. The savages, it is said, obtain 

 an oil from the tail of the Beaver, which they employ as a 

 topical remedy for different complaints. The flesh of this 

 animal, though fat and delicate, is yet bitter, and disagree- 

 able to the palate. 



There are two kinds of hair on the skin of the Beaver; 

 that next the skin is short, and as fine as down ; the upper 

 coat is scantier, thicker and longer. The downy hair is 

 manufactured into hats, stockings, caps, and other articles. 

 The skin is so considerable an article of traffic, that the 

 species which produces it will, perhaps, at length, be ex- 

 terminated. At one sale, the Hudson's Bay Company 

 sold about fifty-four thousand; and, in 1798, a hundred 

 and six thousand were exported to Europe and China from 

 Canada alone. 



The senses of the Beaver are very acute ; and so delicate 

 is its smell, that it will suffer no filth, no bad stench, to re- 

 main near it. 



