52 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



that bark is the chief food, and that in order 

 to obtain a supply sufficient to carry the animals 

 over the long, dreary, snow-bound winter months 

 a quantity must be stored. Needless to say, 

 this necessitates the felling of trees and sap- 

 lings before the cold weather comes. A certain 

 amount of brush is used from which the tender 

 bark is eaten, and most of this brush is obtained 

 from the ends of branches, although some shrubs 

 are also cut. Apparently not so much bark is eaten 

 during the spring and summer as later, if we may 

 judge from the peeled sticks which are found in 

 such abundance in September, October and Novem- 

 ber. During the earlier part of this season, no wood 

 is stored, though many trees are either cut or partly 

 cut, while still more are simply marked or blazed, 

 as already stated in the beginning of this volume. 

 This blazing at first glance reminds one of the work 

 of the lumber-man and we are inclined to put a 

 wrong construction on beavers' ideas. We might 

 think that the trees are simply being marked for 

 cutting later on, or that the head of the family or 

 colony selects what trees he considers should be 

 felled and marks them with the three or four cuts. 

 But though such theories are most alluring, and 

 one is surprised that they have not led to additional 

 stories of beaver-wonders, common sense steps in 

 and offers a logical reason which should be con- 

 sidered, even though it is merely practical and not 

 at all particularly wonderful. This explanation is 



