FOOD OF THE BEAVER 217 



diameter, and 5 feet high, with a central chamber above high- 

 water mark, and its only entrance is well under water. If 

 a Beaver house is attacked, the occupants immediately seek 

 refuge in deep water. 



The trees which furnish bark most prized by the Beaver 

 as food are the poplar, cottonwood, willow, birch, elm, box- 



SKULL OF BEAVER, A TYPICAL RODENT. 



elder and aspen. The bark of the oak, hickory or ash is 

 not eaten. 



The Beaver's front teeth (incisors) are very strong and 

 sharp, and the muscles of the jaw are massive and powerful. 

 It is no uncommon thing for a Beaver to fell a tree a foot in 

 diameter in order to get at its branches. It is said by some 

 observers that large trees are made to fall as the Beavers 

 prefer to have them, toward their pond. In felling a tree, 

 they first remove the bark from a circle a foot in width, 

 just above the spur roots, standing on their hind legs while 



