210 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



skin, very dark in colour and with a few short 

 hairs projecting from between the scaly ridges on 

 the upper side. The tail is actuated by powerful 

 muscles, which enable the animal to strike tl^e 

 water with extraordinary force. 



A beaver's head resembles a cross between a 





Lower jaw of beaver with the near side of jaw cut away in 

 order to show the total length of the incisor tooth and 

 the comparatively small amount that projects. Upper 

 figures are the molars or grinding teeth (§ natural size). 



squirrel and a rat, though in some ways it is 

 perhaps more like a guinea-pig. It is well coated 

 with hair and fur except the nostrils. The face 

 has five rows of bristles between the nostrils and 

 mouth, and a few bristles over the eye, which is 

 very small, only half an inch in diameter. The 

 ears are short, dark, and hairy. But the most 



