CASTOROLOGIA. I 65 



yards long, and so level that the water follows them in the whole 

 length. 



"As to the time they bring forth their young, from my own 

 knowledge I cannot say. I have seen it stated to be January, and 

 also the beginning of May. I can say nothing against that, judging 

 from the size of the young when I first saw them in the second week 

 of June, the oldest litter being about the size of a full-grown rabbit, 

 and the youngest not half that size. 



"From careful observation, I have good reasons for believing 

 they have only one at a birth. One thing I am certain of, they have 

 two litters in the season. Beavers are a class of animals that are 

 very timid, their sight, scent and hearing very keen, so much so, that 

 it is with great caution they can be approached near enough to see 

 what they are doing. They are under cover all day from seven 

 o'clock in the morning till seven in the evening. When one comes 

 out, it floats on the surface of the water, carefully surveying the 

 whole scene around, snifSng the air, and if no danger is appre- 

 hended it dives and disappears. In two or three minutes, a number 

 of the colony begin to appear and disperse themselves, some to swim 

 and sport about in the dam, while others go in quest of food. If one 

 of them espies danger it strikes one sharp, loud stroke on the water 

 with its tail, when all of them that are out come tumbling into the 

 dam and disappear. 



" They will allow of no laziness in any member of the colony ; if 

 any such there be, they are beaten and driven out to live as best 

 they may. These so driven out generally roam about, making a 

 burrow here and there, where they live for a few months and die. ' ' 



Such records are most valuable, but unfortunately, errors of ob- 

 servation or of judgment in recording, necessitate some comment in 

 presenting them together with conflicting evidence. A visit to the 

 "enclosure" in July 1889, gave an impression of a condition of 

 things quite different to that reported, which may be substantiated 

 by reference to the accompanying engraving, copied from photo- 



