THE BEAVER AS A SPECIES 213 



three-quarters of an inch in length, while the hair 

 is from two to two-and-a-half inches long, dark in 

 colour and fairly shiny. The general colour of the 

 animal is chestnut brown, but it varies considerably 

 according to locality, from a lightish yellow to 

 very dark brown, and in very rare instances to 

 almost black. Albinism, either partial or com- 

 plete, is comparatively rare. The colour of the 

 young beaver is decidedly greyer than that of the 

 adults, the length of one four days old is about 

 fourteen inches. 



Outwardly there is nothing to distinguish the 

 sexes, except when the female is suckling her 

 young ; then her four teats, which are situated 

 between the fore legs, are slightly enlarged. The 

 number of young at birth varies from two to six, 

 rarely more, the common number being four. They 

 are born between the end of April and beginning 

 of June after a period of gestation which is beheved 

 to last about fourteen weeks. 



In swimming the beaver uses its hind legs and 

 to a very limited extent its tail, chiefly for sudden 

 starts and turns. In this respect it differs entirely 

 from the muskrat, which swims chiefly with its tail, 

 which acts as a scull. The front feet are, as the 

 trappers say, " put into its waistcoat pockets," in 

 other words, held downwards along the sides. The 

 head is clearly visible when the animal swims and 

 the top of the back more or less so according to the 

 speed at which it is going. When lying perfectly 



