THE BEAVER. 



323 



imity to them. Being genuine arboreal animals they 

 are marvelous climbers, even among the thinnest 

 twigs. In August from three to four naked, blind 

 young make their appearance in the ball-shaped 

 summer nest, which is always built in the thickest of 

 bushes and about three feet from the ground. 



Long Hiberna- 

 tion of Dor- 

 mice. 



ter provisions, 



About the middle of October the 

 Dormice retire into the hiding-place 

 where they have stored their win- 

 and prepare a ball-shaped covering 

 made of twigs, foliage, fir-needles, moss and grass; 

 this they wrap around themselves, curl up into a ball 

 and fall into a still deeper torpidity than do their rela- 

 tives; for one can take them up and roll them around 

 without their giving a sign of life. According to 

 whether the winter be mild or severe, they sleep 

 through six or seven months in a more or less un- 

 broken repose, until the beautiful, warm spring sun 

 awakes them to new life. 



Zbc leaver. 



THIRD FAMILY: Castorid^;. 



Though corresponding with the preceding Rodents 

 in many respects, the Beaver differs from them and 

 its other relatives in 

 such marked degree that 

 it must be considered as 

 the representative of an 

 entirely distinct family 

 (Castoridce) . 



The Beaver has at- 

 tracted attention since 

 the earliest times and is 

 frequently mentioned by 

 ancient authors under 

 the name of " Castor " 

 and "Fiber." Yet the 

 old observers of nature 

 impart little knowledge 

 in respect to its habits. 

 The Beaver is now dis- 

 tributed over three con- 

 tinents in regions be- 

 tween the thirty - third 

 and sixty-eighth de- 

 grees of north latitude. 

 The European countries 

 in which it is most fre- 

 quently found are Bos- 

 nia, Russia, particularly 

 in the northern tributa- 

 ries of the Pripet in the 

 Government of Minsk, 

 and Scandinavia, espe- 

 cially Norway. It is 

 much more numerous in 

 Asia than in Europe. It 



is quite plentiful along the great streams of cen- 

 tral and northern Siberia, and is also said to exist 

 along the rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea. It 

 is certainly found along the tributaries of the Kooban 

 on the northern slope of the Caucasus and in Meso- 

 potamia. In America it was formerly common, but its 

 numbers have been greatly diminished by relentless 

 pursuit. Audubon in 1849 mentions only Labrador, 

 Newfoundland, Canada and a few localities in Maine 

 and Massachusetts, as still harboring Beavers, but 

 adds that isolated specimens were still found in vari- 



ous thinly populated parts of the United States 

 [Since Audubon's time the fauna of the Rocky 

 Mountain regions has become better known, and 

 Beavers have been plentifully found in the western 

 rivers. They still exist in wooded regions on the 

 banks of the Platte and also in other like localities 

 from the Canadian line to Arizona.] 

 Physical Char- The Beaver (Castor fiber) is one of 

 acteristics of the largest Rodents. The body of 

 Beauers. an adult male is from thirty to thirty- 

 eight inches long; the tail measures twelve inches, 

 and the height at the shoulders is about twelve 

 inches. The weight is from forty to sixty pounds. 

 The body is clumsy and strong, the hinder part be- 

 ing considerably thicker than the fore part; the back 

 is arched, the abdomen pendulous, the neck short 

 and thick, the head broad at the skull and narrow in 

 front, and having a flat top and a short, blunt snout. 

 The legs are short and very sturdy, the hind pair 

 being slightly the longest; the feet are five-toed and 

 the hind ones are furnished with broad webs to 

 the very claws. The tail is round at its root, flat- 

 tened above and below, and about eight inches wide 

 in the middle, rounded above, and nearly sharp 

 edged at the tip. The ears are small and short, fur- 

 clad on both sides and can be folded against the 

 head so as to close the auditory passage almost com- 



THE COMMON DORMOUSE. A pretty Rodent famous for its torpidity in the winter and its liveliness in 



the summer months. The animals shown in the picture are appropriately placed amid arboreal surroundings, and the 

 Dormouse to the right is shown in a Squirrel-like, sitting posture which is often assumed by these animals. (Mus- 

 cardinus avellanarius.) 



pletely. The small eyes are furnished with lids; the 

 pupil has a vertical position. The nostrils are fleshy 

 and may also be closed like the ears. The fur con- 

 sists of an exceedingly thick, flaky, woolly coat of 

 silky softness and a thin, long outer coat composed 

 of strong, stiff, shining hair, short on the head and 

 rear part of the back, and over two inches long on 

 the rest of the body. The coloring of the upper 

 part is a dark maroon, with more or less of a grayish 

 tint; the lower surface is lighter; the woolly under 

 fur is silvery gray at the root, yellowish brown at 



