280 LAKES AND STREAMS 



bottom of the lake in which the water was stored has been formed a plain, which 

 when covered with grass is the so-called "beaver-meadow." 



The beaver habitations of the Old World frequently have no dam, since owing 

 to the height of the water in the lakes and ponds varying so little they would be 

 superfluous. In the spring of 1890, however, a beaver near Wittenburg dammed 

 a ditch with twigs and mud, apparently with the intention of preventing the 

 sinking of the water, and another beaver-dam was built near Dessau. A stream 

 leading from the Kirtman Lake to the Elbe, which is bordered in its widest part 

 on one side by forests and on the other by meadows, forms at a little distance from 

 its mouth a few small ponds, once favourite haunts of beavers. In November 

 1891, when the Elbe was exceedingly low, the lake discharged such small quantities 

 of water that the entrances of the beavers' burrows became visible, and thus made 

 it impossible for their inhabitants to get out without being seen. One day it was 

 noticed that the water in the stream had risen, and it was discovered that below 

 the burrows, where the pond is narrow, the beavers had made a dam of 5 feet in 

 height and about 10 feet wide, and solid enough to resist the pressure of the 

 water. In the following March the beavers tried to pond back the water at a 

 place situated about three-quarters of a mile farther up the same channel, but this 

 dam remained unfinished, as shortly afterwards the stream became sufficiently 

 provided with water. 



For the construction of its dams and lodges the beaver uses branches of 

 considerable length and thickness, which are first barked, and then arranged in 

 layers, one on the top of the other, and held together with sand, mud, or clay. 

 When beginning the structure, and using light wood, the beaver loads the top with 

 stones of several pounds in weight. While swimming, the beaver holds the stones 

 and soil between its fore-paws, and presses them against its chin, but when on land 

 it walks upright with them to the building-place. It is also said to carry the 

 wood in its fore-paws, although others state that it clutches this with its teeth, 

 supporting the poles on its shoulder like a rifle. If possible, it cuts the wood 

 higher up the river so as to take advantage of the current, and so float it to the 

 building-ground, swimming alongside to steer it along. The direction of the current 

 is olso taken into consideration when building is commenced, as it has been observed 

 that in some dams the lowest poles are placed in regular order, parallel to each other, 

 with the thicker ends up-stream. When felling timber, the beaver stands upright, 

 supported on its tail, and gnaws deep grooves in the shape of an hour-glass into 

 stems from an inch and upwards in diameter, continuing till the trunk falls in the 

 most convenient direction. Sometimes the work is interrupted for weeks, to be 

 finished apparently when the wind blows from a favourable quarter. During these 

 proceedings the beaver often looks up, so as to be in time to get out of the way of 

 the falling tree. When beginning a dam, it generally chooses the trees close to the 

 bank, cutting them only on one side so that they fall across the river and form a 

 solid basis for the structure. The stumps of the trees are pointed at the top and 

 marked by the teeth with cross-lines and grooves as sharp and smooth as if cut 

 by a chisel. The trees felled are generally those whose soft wood and bark 

 the beaver eats, but sometimes they are hardwood trees, such as oaks, or trees 

 with a bitter taste, such as elms and firs, though the latter are seldom chosen. 



