use his jaw as a lever. With the aspen, or with 

 other trees equally soft, about one hour is re- 

 quired to gnaw down a four-inch sapling. With 

 one bite he will snip off a limb from half to three 

 quarters of an inch in diameter. 



After a tree is felled on land, the limbs are cut 

 off and the trunk is gnawed into sections. The 

 length of these sections appears to depend upon 

 the size of the tree-trunk and also the distance 

 to the water, the number of beaver to assist in 

 its transportation, and the character of the trail. 

 Commonly a six- or eight-inch tree is cut into 

 lengths of about four to six feet. If the tree falls 

 into the water of the pond or the canal, it is, if the 

 limbs are not too long, transported butt foremost 

 to the desired spot in its uncut, untrimmed en- 

 tirety. Ofttimes with a large tree the trunk is left 

 and only the limbs taken. 



The green wood which the beaver uses for his 

 winter's food - supply is stored on the bottom of 

 the pond. How does he sink it to the bottom? 

 There is an old and oft-repeated tale which says 

 that the beaver sucks the air from the green wood 

 so as to sink it promptly. Another tale has it that 



12 



