44 



MAMMALIA RODENTIA 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, cover- 

 ed 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 



it 



only builds long 

 Beaver. burrows there ; and 



it is in the lonely rivers of North America, that it builds its 

 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, and the hunters kill large numbers. It 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, in the place 

 of and among the hair. Some of these animals are met with in 

 the south of France. 



