THE BEAVERS OF NORTH AMERICA 53 



that in order to keep the bark perfectly sweet while 

 under water for a considerable time, the tree must 

 be in a certain condition, otherwise the bark might 

 ferment or in some other way become unfit for 

 food. The only way in which the beaver can assure 

 himself of the tree's condition is by biting into the 

 inner bark, therefore this would account for the 

 numerous blazed trees which may be found in the 

 vicinity of the ponds and lodges. Carrying this 

 idea a little further, we have also a possible ex- 

 planation for the fact that such a large number of 

 trees are girdled and left often for weeks before 

 being finally dropped. This girdling allows the 

 tree to dry more quickly than if left with the bark 

 on. The acceptance of this theory means, of 

 course, that we are endowing the animals with 

 extraordinary intelligence ; but how can we avoid 

 doing so when we see what they accompUsh ? 

 When I first described this systematic marking of 

 trees, I was ridiculed, partly because it had not 

 previously been brought to anyone's notice (so far 

 as I know), but the fact that it is commonly done 

 by beavers can be proved by a visit to any place 

 where the animals are preparing to store their 

 winter food, and as a reason for its being done 

 these theories are offered simply as theories. 



It has often been said that cutting down trees is 

 the most wonderful work accomplished by beaver, 

 but how such a conclusion can be reached is 

 .difficult to understand. Nearly all of their efforts 



