CAS 



GAS 



should be great, and as few as possible, 

 because their rich simplicity is more sus- 

 ceptible of great lights. But it is an er- 

 ror to design draperies that are too heavy 

 and cumbersome, for they ought to be 

 suitable to the figures, with a combination 

 of ease and grandeur. Order, contrast, 

 and variety of stuffs and folds, constitute 

 the elegance of draperies ; and diversity 

 of colours in those stuffs contributes ex- 

 tremely to the harmony of the whole in 

 historic compositions. 



CASTLE, in the sea language, is a part 

 of the ship, of which there are two, the 

 fore-castle being the elevation at the 

 prow, or the uppermost deck, towards 

 the mizen, the place where the kitchens 

 are. Hind-castle is the elevation which 

 reigns on the stern over the last deck, 

 where the officers' cabins and places of 

 assembly are. 



CASTOR, the beaver, in natural his- 

 tory, a genus of Mammalia, of the or- 

 der Glires. Generic character: upper 

 fore-teeth truncated, and hollowed in a 

 transverse angle ; lower transverse at 

 the top; four grinders in each jaw; tail 

 long, scaly, and depressed ; clavicles per- 

 fect. There are two species, of which 

 the most worthy of notice is C. fiber. The 

 colour of the beaver is generally of a 

 deep chesnut; sometimes it has been seen 

 entirely white ; less rarely completely 

 black ; it is about three feet long in the 

 body; its tail is about the length of one 

 foot, and by its peculiarity distinguishes 

 this animal from every other quadruped ; 

 it is of an oval form, and Hat, with a 

 slight convexity towards the base, desti- 

 tute of hair, and completely covered with 

 scaly divisions. The beaver was known 

 to the ancients for its possession of that 

 scbacious matter called castor, secreted 

 by two large glands near its genitals and 

 anus, and of which each animal has about 

 two ounces ; but they appear to have 

 been unacquainted with its habits and 

 economy ; with that mental contrivance 

 and practical dexterity, which, in its na- 

 tural stale, so strikingly distinguish it. 

 Beavers are found in the most northern 

 latitudes of Europe and Asia, but are 

 most abundant in North America. In the 

 months of June and July they assemble 

 in large companies, to the number of two 

 hundred, on the banks of some water, and 

 proceed to the formation of their esta- 

 blishment. If the water be subject to 

 risings and fallings, they erect a dam, to 

 preserve it at a constant level ; where 

 this level is naturally preserved, this la- 

 bour is superseded. The length of this 



dam is occasionally eight feet. In the 

 preparation of it, they begin with felling- 

 some very high, but not extremely thick, 

 tree on the border of the river, which 

 can be made to foil into the water ; and in 

 a short time this is effected, by the united 

 operation of many, with their fore-teeth, 

 the branches being afterwards cleared by 

 the same process. A multitude of smaller 

 trees are found necessary to complete the 

 fabric, and many of these are dragged 

 from some distance by land, and formed 

 into stakes, the fixing of which is a work 

 of extreme difficulty and perseverance, 

 some of the beavers with their teeth rais- 

 ing their large ends against the cross- 

 beam, while others at the bottom dig 

 with their fore-feet the holes in which 

 the points are to be sunk. A series of 

 these stakes, in several rows, is establish- 

 ed from one bank of the river to the 

 other, in connection with the cross-tree, 

 and the intervals between them are filled 

 up by vast quantities of earth, brought 

 from a distance, and plashed with mate- 

 rials adapted to give it tenacity, and pre- 

 vent its being carried ofF. The bank is 

 formed at the bottom, of about the width 

 of twelve feet, diminishing as it approach- 

 es the surface of the water to two or 

 three; being thus judiciously constructed 

 to resist its weight and efforts by the in- 

 clined plane instead of perpendicular op- 

 position. These preparations of such im- 

 mense magnitude and toil being complet- 

 ed, they proceed to the construction of 

 their mansions, which are raised on piles 

 near the margin of the stream or lake, 

 and have one opening from the land, and 

 another by which they have instant ac- 

 cess to the water. These buildings are 

 usually of an orbicular form, in general 

 about the diameter often feet, and com- 

 prehending frequently several stories. 

 The foundation walls are nearly two feet' 

 in thickness, resting upon planks or 

 stakes, which constitute also their floors. 

 In the houses of one story only, the walls, 

 which in all cases are plastered with ex- 

 treme neatness, both externally and with- 

 in, after rising about two feet perpendi- 

 cularly", approach each other, so as at 

 length to constitute, in closing, a species 

 of dome. In the application of the mor- 

 tar to their habitations, the tails as well as 

 feet of the beavers are of essential ser- 

 vice. Stone, wood, and a sandy kind of 

 earth, are employed in their structures, 

 which by their compactness and strength 

 completely preclude injury from winds 

 and rain. The alder, poplar, and willow, 

 are the principal trees which they employ; 



