December 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE, 



295 



We regret to have to record the death on September 14th, 

 at the age of eighty-two, of the Rev. Andrew Matthews, of 

 Gumley, Market Harborough. Mr. Matthews had been an 

 earnest student of natural history during nearly the whole 

 of his long life. His collections were large, and contained 

 many very valuable and interesting series both of insects 

 and birds. In 1819, in conjunction with his brother 

 Henry Matthews, he published " The History of the Birds 

 of Oxfordshire and its Neighbourhood." In 1872 ha 

 published a work entitled " Trichopterygidre lUustrata," 

 written in Latin and illustrated by himself in thirty-one 

 plates, detailing the full anatomy of this family of almost 

 invisible insects. His other works have been " Essay on 

 the British Species of the Genus Myllcona," 1837 ; 

 "Synopsis of European Trichopterygidro," which appeared 

 in the French magazine L'AhcilU' : and " A Synopsis of 

 the TrichopterygidsB of America." In 1888 he was en- 

 gaged in a description of his branch of natural history 

 for the great American work on the ' ' Natural History of 

 Central America" (Godman & Salvin). In his eightieth 

 year he completed a second volume of " Trichopterygida3 

 lUustrata," fully illustrated by his own hand from micro- 

 scopic dissections of these minute beetles. This work is 

 now in the publisher's hands. After the publication of 

 the first volume of " Trichopterygidfe lUustrata " he was 

 offered the honour of the Fellowship of the Royal Society 

 of England, which, however, he declined, " lest his scien- 

 tific acquirements should be estimated by the number of 

 letters after his name." 



Peter Lund Simmonds, who was proprietor and editor 

 of the Techrwloijist, 1862-60, and the Journal of Applied 

 Science, 1870-81, died recently, aged eighty-three, in the 

 Charterhouse, where, in reduced circumstances, he found a 

 refuge among the brethren. Mr. Simmonds was a volu- 

 minous writer on agriculture, food supplies, and commercial 

 matters generally. His best known work, " Waste Products 

 and Undeveloped Substances," went through many editions. 



THE BEAVER IN NORWAY. 



By R. Lydekkeb, B.A.Cantab., F.R.S. 



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 hats been superseded by that of silk, there is 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 fre- 

 quently bear testimony to its former presence. Among 

 the countries where it still maintains a foothold is Norway, 

 but of late years little information has been forthcoming 

 as to the approximate number of beaver in the country, or 

 their mode of life. We are, therefore, glad to welcome a 

 booklet by Dr. Robert Collett, the well-known Zoological 

 Professor at the University of Christiania, published by 

 the Bergen Museum, and dealing with the present con- 

 dition and habits of the Norway beaver. As it is illus- 



trated by twelve excellent photographs of the haunts of 

 the beaver, the reader can obtain a good idea of the kind 

 of country affected by these animals, and can also see for 

 himself their mode of working. 



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 the next century. The two 

 most important colonies now remaining are situated at 

 Aamli and Nedrethelemarken, and both of these have 

 recently been visited by the author. 



The Norwegian beaver began to decrease in numbers 

 from the early part or middle of the last century, and by 

 1800 had already disappeared from most parts of the 

 country, with the exception of the northern districts of 

 Finmark and Nordland, and the southern province of 

 Nedenas, or Christiansand. The work of extermination 

 went on more or less rapidly till the year 1815, when it 

 was somewhat checked by the enactment of protective 

 statutes ; but either these could not have worked very 

 effectually, or the war of extermination had been only too 

 well carried out, for in 1880 the number of individuals 

 surviving throughout the country was estimated at only 

 about three score. Three years later the number of head 

 was put down roughly at a hundred, and since that date 

 it is probable that the number has been fully maintained, 

 if, indeed, it has not actually increased. 



The statutes which have been enacted for the preser- 

 vation of the beaver in Norway are not, for the most part, 

 of a very effectual nature, and have a decidedly feudatory 

 smack. The statute of 181-3 provided that no beaver at 

 all should be killed for ten years, and then only by the 

 proprietors of the estates on which they were found. This 

 was admirable as far as it went, but as from the beginning 

 of Ls56 proprietors were again allowed to kill, without 

 either restriction as to time or number, it is obvious that 

 the good results of the first enactment might very well 

 have been speedily lost. Probably this was found to be 

 the case, as in 1863 a fresh statute was propounded, estab- 

 lishing a close time and fixing a limitation in number. 

 According to this statute, beaver were only allowed to be 

 killed during the months of August, September, and 

 October, and then only by owners of estates, wlio were per- 

 mitted to kill but one individual annually on each separate 

 estate. 



Special exemptions might, however, be granted by the 

 Sovereign, who was enabled to give permission for the 

 killing of several individuals on large estates, or even to 

 permit the proprietors to kill the whole number of animals 

 on an island or enclosed property ; thus putting some of 

 the colonies, like the one at Aamli, entirely in the power 

 of the owner. Moreover, although slaughter is entirely 

 forbidden on Crown or municipal lands, beaver might be 

 killed to any extent, and apparently in any number, on 

 private estates where they inflicted appreciable damage. 



Two much more effectual statutes have, however, 

 recently come into operation ; the one, dated August Slst, 

 1894, protecting all the beavers in the Amt of Sondre 

 Bergenhus till the end of 1901, and the other, dated 

 September 3rd, 1895, doing the same for the colony of 

 Aamli till the end of 1905. The penalty for illegally 

 killing beaver is a fine of eighty kronors (about £4 lOs.), 

 which can be inflicted on all the participators in the 

 oftence. 



The chief food of the beaver in Norway consists of the 

 fresh bark of deciduous trees, more especially the aspen ; 

 the larger branches being barked, but the twigs consumed 

 entire, and the coarse bark of the trunk generally rejected. 

 For winter use small branches are sunk near the entrance 



