ONAWEES. 



109 



they flock together from all sides, and frequently do great damage, 

 by cutting the stalk, in order to come at the ear. In. autumn and 

 winter, the greater part of them withdraw into the woods, where 

 they find beech-mast, nuts, and acorns. Some years they appear 

 in such great numbers, that they would destroy everything, were 

 they to subsist for any length of time. For want of other food, 

 however, they often destroy and eat one another, and are them- 

 selves the usual prey of the fox, the wild-cat, the marten, the 

 weasel, and the long-tailed field-mouse. 



The Beaver. — North America is the principal country 

 where the Beaver is found, but it is also common on the Euphrates, 

 and along some of the larger European rivers, as the Khone and 

 the Danube. In former years, when the wolf and bear inhabited 

 England, the Beaver followed its architectural pursuits along the 

 rivers ; but it has not been seen there since 1 188. 



The houses of the Beaver are built of mud, stones, and 

 sticks. They are placed in a stream, and their entrance is always 

 below the surface. As a severe frost would freeze up their doors, 

 it is necessary to make the stream 

 deep enough to prevent the frost 

 from reaching the entrances. This 

 object is attained by building a 

 dam across the river, to keep back 

 the water until it is suflSciently 

 deep for the beaver's purposes. 

 The dam is made of branches 



which the Beaver cuts down with its strong, sharp teeth, and mud 

 and stones worked in among the branches. The beavers throw 

 tl ese branches into the water, and sink them to the bottom by 

 means of stones, and by continually throwing in fresh supplies a 

 strong embankment is soon made. 



As many beavers live together in one society, the formation 

 of a dam does not take very long. By their united efibrts they 

 rapidly fell even large trees, by gnawing them round the truck, 

 and always taking care to make them fall towards the water, so 

 that they can transport the logs easily. The mud and stones used 



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