The Beaver. 121 



"Nose, obtuse and divided; eyes, small ; ears, short, rounded, well 

 clothed with fur, and partially concealed by the longer surrounding 

 hairs : moustaches, not numerous, but very rigid, like hogs' bristles, 

 reaching to the ears ; neck, rather short. The fur is of two kinds. 

 The upper and longer hair is coarse, smooth, and glossy ; the un- 

 der coat is dense, soft, and silky. Fore-feet, short and rather slen- 

 der ; toes, well separated and very flexible. The fore-feet are used 

 like hands to convey food to the mouth. The fore-claws are strong, 

 compressed, and channelled beneath. The middle toe is the long- 

 est, those on each side a little shorter, and the outer and inner 

 ones shortest. 



"The hind-feet bear some resemblance to those of the goose. 

 They are webbed beyond the roots of the nails, and have hard and 

 callous soles. In most of the specimens we have seen, there is a 

 double nail on the second inner toe. The palms and soles are 

 naked. When walking, the whole heel touches the ground. The 

 Beaver is accustomed to rest itself on its hind-feet and tail, and 

 when in this sitting position contracts its fore-claws in the manner 

 of the left hand figure represented in the plate. The upper surface 

 of all the feet, with the exception of the nails, which are naked, 

 is thickly covered with short adpressed hairs. 



" The tail is very broad and flat, tongue-shaped, and covered with 

 angular scales. The root of the tail is for an inch covered with 

 fine fur. The glandular sacs containing the castoreum, a musky 

 unctuous substance, are situated near the anus. 



COLOUR. 



Incisors, on their outer surface, orange ; moustaches, black ; eyes, 

 light-brown. The soft under down is light grayish-brown. The 

 upper fur on the back is of a shining chesnut colour ; on the under 

 surface, and around the mouth and throat, a shade lighter. Nails, 

 brown ; webs between the toes, and tail, grayish-brown. We have 

 seen an occasional variety. Some are black; and we examined 

 several skins that were nearly white. 



DIMENSIONS. 



From nose to root of tail, 23 inches. 



Tail, 10 do. 



From heel to end of middle claw, 5g do. 



Greatest breadth of tail, 3 J do. 



Thickness of tail, | do. 



Weight, \l\ lbs. 



