56 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



the purpose of resting. From the very different 

 heights of the stumps it is obvious that the 

 beaver follows no hard and fast rule in cutting. 

 Frequently stumps four or five feet in height are 

 found. These of course are done when the ground 

 is covered with well- packed or ice-coated snow, 

 except in cases where the animal stands on a con- 

 venient log or mound of earth, and so reaches high 

 enough to avoid the bulging part of the trunk near 

 the ground. That the beaver ever make piles of 

 earth for the purpose of having an elevated plat- 

 form is hard to believe, notwithstanding what has 

 been written on that subject. The origin of such 

 stories is probably the mounds of moss-covered 

 earth or decayed tree stumps which are so often 

 found close against growing trees, marking perhaps 

 the tombstone of the parent of the existing tree. 

 These mounds are quickly worn down by the 

 beaver standing on them so that they have the 

 appearance of being made of freshly collected mud 

 or earth. 



In cutting, the beaver sometimes stands erect 

 and cuts as high as he can reach, then again, judg- 

 ing from the very low stumps, some of them 

 stand on all fours, but the usual method is to 

 stand on the hind feet with the broad tail stretched 

 out behind to act as a balance. Either one or 

 both front feet or hands are placed on the trunk. 

 In most cases, the cutting is done all round the 

 tree as shown in some of the photographs, while 



