THE AMERICAN BEAVER. 703 



the severe frost of a North American winter, it forms a very sufficient 

 defence against the attacks of the Beaver's great enemy, the wolverene, 

 and cannot readily be broken through, even with the help of iron tools. 

 The precise manner in which the Beavers perform their various tasks is 

 not easy to discern, as the animals work only in the dark. The females, 

 however, it is known, are the architects and builders, the males merely 

 carriers and laborers. 



Around the lodges the Beavers excavate a rather large ditch, too 

 deep to be entirely frozen, and into this ditch the various lodges open, so 

 that the inhabitants can pass in or out without hindrance. This pre- 

 caution is the more necessary, as they are poor pedestrians, and never 

 travel by land as long as they can swim by water. Each lodge is in- 

 habited by a small number of Beavers, whose beds are arranged against 

 the wall, each bed being separate, and the centre of the chamber being 

 left unoccupied. 



In order to secure a store of winter food, the Beavers take a vast 

 number of small logs, and carefully fasten them under water in the close 

 vicinity of their lodges. When a Beaver feels hungry, he dives to the 

 store-heap, drags out a suitable log, carries it to a sheltered and dry 

 spot, nibbles the bark away, and then either permits the stripped log to 

 float down the stream, or applies it to the dam. 



The Beaver does not possess a pleasing appearance. Its thickset 

 shape, its large head, small eyes, cloven upper lip, which shows its 

 powerful incisors, its long and wide tail, flattened like a spatula and 

 covered with scales, combine to give it an awkward appearance. Its 

 hind feet are larger than the fore, and are fully webbed. Owing to the 

 deep separation of the fingers, and the existence of certain fleshy tuber- 

 cles placed on the lower face of the extremities, they fulfil to some extent 

 the functions of thumbs, those in front more especially. The muzzle is 

 prolonged a little way beyond the jaws, and the nostrils are remarkably 

 mobile. The ears are also movable ; they do not show much, and the 

 animal has the faculty of placing them close to its head when it dives, so 

 as to prevent water entering the auditory passage. Its coat is well 

 adapted to the requirements of an aquatic life, and is composed of a fine 

 thick woolly substance, which lies close upon the skin, and is impervious 

 to water. 



The color of the long shining hairs which cover the back of the 

 Beaver is a light chestnut, and the fine wool that lies next to the skin is 



