4i 



upon the side of a barn for the accommodation of the House 

 Wren (Troglodytes aedori), is occasionally taken possession 

 of by this species. 



Castor canadensis KuhL American Beaver. 



The abundance of vegetation, and the presence of great 

 numbers of swiftly running streams with which almost the 

 entire county is intersected, formerly offered most desirable 

 conditions for the existence of the Beaver, — once so abun- 

 dant here and now completely extirpated, not only in this 

 comity but probably in the entire state. Frequent mention 

 is made of Beavers in works relating to the early settlement 

 of these parts. They were in great numbers, and so steady 

 and reliable an article of commerce were their pelts that a 

 recognized price or value existed, and they formed a medium 

 of exchange in trade. As late as 1674 beaver pelts were 

 sometimes mentioned as the consideration in the transfer of a 

 tract of land instead of money (Doc. Hist. 12 p. 608) ; and in 

 every sense were treated as " currency — a proceeding that 

 would lead to no little inconvenience with the present state of 

 affairs in Wall-st. 



As testimony of the incredible numbers of Beavers that 

 formerly lived here, I quote at second hand Van der Donck, 

 the Patroon of Yonkers, who, writing in 1656, says (Bolton 4 , 

 pp. 29 and 30) : 'This timid animal always constructed its 

 dwellings over running streams, having apertures in the lower 

 stories which communicated with the water from which they 

 could more easily retreat under water to places of safety which 

 they have always prepared near their houses ; these consist of 

 a hollow or hole entwining under water from the side of the 

 stream whereon their house was erected, and adjoining under 

 the bank into which they retreat on the approach of danger. 

 * * * Eighty thousand beavers were killed annually during 

 his residence of nine years in the New Netherlands.' As a 

 last record of the existence of a Beaver in this county, I quote 



