Mammal Craftsmen. 



favourite haunt of the Beaver is the banks of some 

 small stream which has its course through well- wooded 

 country, especially where the trees are chiefly willows, 

 birches, and poplars, upon the bark of which it feeds; 



Although in populous countries the Beaver is con- 

 tent to use a long burrow for his home, in the wild 

 and lonely regions far from the haunt of his cruel foe 

 Man he builds a most elaborate house or lodge wherein 

 to dwell. This lodge is a dome-shaped structure, 

 composed of sticks, grass, and moss, all woven together 

 and plastered with mud, increasing in size and in the 

 thickness of its walls year by year as fresh material 

 is added for repairs. Within this dome-shaped house 

 is a central chamber with its floor a little above the 

 level of the water, and with two shafts which have their 

 outer aperture beneath the water. One of these shafts 

 is driven at a straight and moderate incline, and it is 

 up this that the Beavers drag the pieces of wood and 

 bark that are to be stored within the lodge to form 

 part at least of the winter food supply ; the other shaft 

 is more abrupt in its descent, often winding in its 

 course, and is said to be the usual means of entrance 

 and exit. Both these passages vary a good deal in 

 length in different lodges, often being many feet in 

 length, but they are always very neatly constructed 

 and finished off. The central chamber varies, of course, 

 in size, but the larger ones generally measure about 

 seven or eight feet in diameter and two or three feet in 

 height ; while the floor is snugly carpeted with grass, 

 bark, and wood chips. 



In some lodges, in addition to this large living 

 room, and opening out of it, are special storerooms 



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