324 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



the tip. The tail is grown with very long hair at the 

 base and is naked farther down, being covered with 

 small, elliptical, nearly hexagonal, flat pits, between 

 which grow a few scattered, short, stiff hairs. The 

 prevailing color of the fur is subject to modifica- 

 tions. In a few rare instances white or spotted 

 Beavers have been found. 



The large, strong gnawing teeth are flat, and 

 smooth in front, a cross section appearing nearly 

 three-sided; the sides are chisel shaped, and the 

 teeth protrude far out of the jaw. Both sexes pos- 

 sess two peculiar secretive glands, the castoreum 

 bags, in the lower part of the abdomen. The inner 

 walls of these glands secrete the so-called castoreum, 

 a dark reddish brown, yellowish brown or blackish 

 brown salve-like substance, possessed of a pecul- 

 iarly pungent, strong odor, which strikes few people 

 as agreeable, and is of a bitter, balsamic taste. In 

 former times it was extensively used as a sedative 

 and as a remedy for convulsions, but has come more 

 and more into disuse. 



The Canadian The Canadian Beaver ( Castor catui- 

 Beaver.theAmeri- dcnsis or Castor americ anus) differs 

 can Species. from the European species by hav- 

 ing the line of its face more arched; its head is nar- 

 rower, and the skull also shows other peculiarities; 

 the fur is darker and the "scent bags" are differ- 

 ently situated. According to Blasius, its independ- 

 ence as a species can not be doubted. 



Home and In the majority of cases the Beavers 

 General Habits of now live in couples, forming more 

 Beavers. or j ess numerous families only in 

 the most solitary localities. In all populous coun- 

 tries the Beaver lives like the Otter, in simple, sub- 

 terranean tunnels, and never thinks of building its 

 so-called "lodges' or strongholds. Still some of the 

 latter were found not very long ago on the banks of 

 the Nuthe, near the Elbe, in a lonely spot grown 

 with willow trees, and traversed by the little river, 

 which measures but six to eight paces in width, and 

 ■ has been known under the name of Beaver's Pool 

 since the oldest times. 



Fr.om the accounts of observers we extract the 

 following: After mature deliberation the animals 

 select a stream or pool, the banks of which afford 

 them ample provender, and seem specially adapted 

 for the construction of their " lodges." Those which 

 live singly dwell in simple subterranean burrows, 

 after the manner of Otters; societies, which gener- 

 ally consist of families, as a rule construct houses, 

 and, if there should be a necessity for it, dams, in 

 order to hold back the water and preserve it at a 

 uniform height. Some of these dams are from four 

 hundred and fifty to six hundred feet long, from six 

 to nine feet high, from twelve to eighteen feet thick 

 at the base, and from three to six feet at the top. 

 They consist of logs varying in size from the thick- 

 ness of an arm to that of a thigh, and from three to 

 six feet long. One end of the log or stake is thrust 

 in the ground, the other stands upright in the water; 

 the logs are fastened together by means of thin twigs 

 and made tight with reeds, mud and earth, in such a 

 way that one side presents a nearly vertical, firm 

 wall to the stream, while the other side is sloped. 

 From the ponds rising above the dams, canals are 

 constructed to facilitate the carrying or floating of 

 the necessary construction materials and food. 



Beavers do not forsake a settlement they have 

 founded unless the direst necessity compels them 

 to do so. Beavers' lodges, the origin of which dates 

 very far back, are often found in lonely woods. 



How Beavers The working methods of the Beavers 

 Work and Fell are so closely allied to their general 

 Trees. habits that one pictures their life in 



describing them at work. Like most Rodents they 

 are active at night, and roam about by day only in 

 remote regions, where they have not for a long time 

 encountered any human being. " Shortly after sun- 

 set they leave the tunnels, give a loud whistle and 

 drop into the water with loud splashes. For a time 

 they swim near the lodge, going as rapidly against 

 as with the stream and occasionally come to the sur- 

 face, showing either the nose and forehead or the 

 head and back, according to whether they deem 

 themselves secure or not. When they have taken 

 their bearings, they come to the bank and go as far 

 as fifty paces or more, to fell trees for their food 

 and for their building processes." Branches of the 

 thickness of an inch the Beaver bites off with 

 apparent ease, and it fells trees by gnawing the 

 trunk all around and then more on the side near the 

 river, until the tree inclines to that side and falls 

 into the water. Its work may be traced by innumer- 

 able flat, shell-shaped incisions, which appear as 

 smooth and clear-cut as if they had been chopped 

 out with a slightly curved chisel. It is known that 

 the Beaver fells trees thicker than a man's body. 

 Sprigs with plenty of branches are carefully exam- 

 ined before being carried away; occasionally they 

 are split, troublesome stubs of branches are cut off, 

 but all pieces of wood are carried into the water and 

 there the bark is peeled off and stored away for 

 future use. It is not until after a log has been 

 stripped of its bark that the Beaver uses it for con- 

 struction purposes, takes it out of the water, carries 

 it to the nearest "lodge" and makes use of it there. 

 No regular arrangement of the logs can be traced. 

 The requirements are met in a deliberate way, but a 

 regular, orderly arrangement of the building mate- 

 rials does not appear to be thought of. Some stakes 

 lie horizontally, some are oblique, some vertical; 

 some protrude to some distance over the walls of 

 the lodge, others are entirely covered with earth; 

 and something is continually being changed or en- 

 larged or improved. All the substances required 

 for stopping the interstices, such as earth, sand, loam 

 or mud, are moved in various ways, but only by 

 means of the mouth and fore-paws; they are worked , 

 only with the paws. The tail is, at the most, only \J 

 used to preserve the animal's balance, and is never 

 made to serve as a trowel, as was formerly believed. 



As is the case with most animals, the female is 

 the real architect, the male being only a helper and 

 understrapper. Both work all the year through, but 

 not always with the same zeal. In summer and the 

 beginning of autumn they play more than they ad- 

 vance their work; but just before the cold weather 

 sets in they devote the nights uninterruptedly to 

 their work. They are possessed of a keen presenti- 

 ment of impending change of temperature and en- 

 deavor to prepare for it as much as possible. 



Food and Move The principal food of Beavers is the 

 ments of the barks and leaves of various trees. 

 Beaver. Among all branches, which I threw 



to my captive Beavers, the first selection always 'fejl 

 on willows; and it was only when these were lacking 

 that they would take poplars, black poplars, aspens, 

 ash trees and birches — alder trees and oaks always 

 being the least liked. Harder branches, which they 

 take in their forepaws and keep turning around, they 

 strip with consummate skill and adroitness; they 

 peel them so neatly that a stripped branch shows no 



