BEAVERS. 85 



that of the squirrel. Its ears are large ; its paws are delicate, and 

 differ little in length ; its coat which is of a beautiful gray, undu- 

 lated with white above, and of a bright gray underneath, is com- 

 posed of extremely tine, soft hair ; and its tail is blackish, par- 

 ticularly at its end. It lives in burrows and feeds principally on 

 bulbous roots. It is hunted with dogs trained to drag it from its 

 hole without injuring its coat It is found, especially in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Coquimbo and Copiapo, and its fur is sent to San- 

 tiago and Valparaiso, whence it is exported to Europe and the 

 United States ; but it has been hunted so actively, that for some- 

 time, it has been scarcely seen, and in order to prevent the total 

 destruction of the race, the pursuit of the animal has been pro- 

 hibited.] 



Tribe of Castors. 



47. The Rodentia which form this tribe, are distinguished by 

 the conformation of their teeth, by their essentially aquatic mode 

 of life, by their feet having five toes, and the hind ones being 

 palmate. They are divided into two genera, the most important 

 of which is that of CASTORS PROPERLY so CALLED. 



48. BEAVERS, or CASTORS properly so called, are distinguished 

 from all other Rodentia by their horizontally flattened tail, which is 

 nearly of an oval form, and covered with scales. (Plate 4, /z</ 12.) 



49. Beavers are large animals whose mode of life is entirely 

 aquatic, their feet and tail enabling them to swim well: they feed 

 chiefly on bark and other hard substances, and they make use of 

 their strong incisor teeth for cutting all kinds of trees. 



50. The Beaver, Cantor fiber, (Plate 4, fg. 12.) Of all 

 quadrupeds bestows most time and labour on the construction of 

 his dwelling, at which he works in company, in the most solitary 

 parts of North America, from the thirtieth to the sixtieth degree 

 of north latitude. He is also met with in Siberia, Norway, Ger- 

 many, and in France on the banks of the Rhone and Garonne. 



51. These animals are always found in the vicinity of rivers 

 and lakes ; in the summer they inhabit burrows which they dig 

 along the shores, but in winter they retire into huts, constructed 

 with the greatest care, on the banks or in the midst of waters. 

 In general, they select situations where the waters are so deep 

 that they do not freeze to the bottom, and prefer running water, 



47. How are animals of the tribe of Castors distinguished ? 



48. How are Beavers distinguished from other Rodentia ? 



49. What is the mode of life of Beavers? What is their food? 



50. For what is the Beaver remarkable ? In what parts of the world ia 

 the Beaver found ? 



51. How do they dwell ? How do they build their huts ? 



