THE BEAVER IN NORWAY 



HAD not the use of its hair in the manufacture of hats 

 been superseded by that of silk, there is little doubt that 

 the beaver, both in the Old World and in America, would 

 by this time have been numbered among extinct animals. 

 As it is, the creature has but a hard time of it at best, 

 for although there is no longer a demand for its hair by the 

 hat-manufacturer, yet beaver-fur is an article highly valued 

 by the furrier, and equally highly esteemed by the fair 

 sex. Although a few survive in the Rhone and the Rhine, 

 while more numerous colonies are found in parts of Russia, 

 the beaver has been practically swept away from most 

 European countries, though place-names frequently bear 

 testimony to its former presence. Among the countries 

 where it still maintains a foothold is Norway, where Dr. 

 Robert Collett, the well-known Zoological Professor at the 

 University of Christiania, has described its present condition 

 and habits. 



It appears that for some years the beaver has enjoyed 

 a certain amount of protection in Norway, and if this pro- 

 tection be continued, Dr. Collett is of opinion that the 

 animal will survive well into this century. The two most 

 important colonies now remaining are situated at Aamli 

 and Nedrethelemarken. 



The Norwegian beaver began to decrease in numbers 

 from the early part or middle of the eighteenth century, 



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