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some clay and dry grass together, they work it 

 iiito a kind of mortar, with which, by the help 

 of their tails, they plaister all their works both 

 within and without. The inside is vaulted, and 

 is large enough for the reception of eight or 

 ten beavers. In case it rises in an oval figure, 

 it is for the generality above twelve feet long, 

 and eight or ten feet broad. If the number of 

 inhabitants increase to fifteen, twenty, or thirty, 

 the edifice is enlarged in proportion. I have 

 been credibly informed, that four hundred bea- 

 vers have been discovered to reside in one large 

 mansion-house, divided into a vast number of 

 apartments, that had a free communication one 

 with another. 



All these works, more especially in the 

 northern parts, are finished in August, or Sep- 

 tember at farthest ; at which time they begin to 

 lay in their stores. During the summer they are 

 perfect epicures ; and regale themselves every 

 day on the choicest fruits and plants the coun- 

 try affords. Their provisions, indeed, in the 

 winter season, principally consist of the wood of 

 the birch, the plane, and some few other trees ; 

 which they steep in water, from time to time, in 

 such quantities as are proportioned to the num- 



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