WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



an impression that the beaver uses its tail as a plasterer 

 does his trowel in building his dam ; this idea is entirely 

 erroneous, the tail being used as a rudder in swimming, 

 rising, and diving in the water, but the most extraordinary 

 use is the warning given to the rest of the family by the loud 

 report his broad tail makes on the surface of the water, of 

 a supposed danger, for however many there may be about 

 upon this signal they all disappear under water. The 

 sound is so remarkable, that upon a still night it could 

 probably be heard half a-mile away. 



Bu'yeau NatyfB Sputy:, 

 Cornell Untversttt, li'^n^^a, /v. F, 



100 



