198 CASTOROI<OGIA. 



ings of Canada or at least of her flag. The beaver is a well estab- 

 lished emblem and one equally appropriate to the country in the 

 fur trading era, to the lumbering period and to the age of industry ; 

 the animal having been everywhere regarded as a model of industry. 

 It has also the merit of universally having been in use as an em- 

 blem of Canada. ' ' 



Sir William Dawson, in a lecture delivered in 1863, on "The 

 Duties of Educated Young Men in British America," said, " Canada 

 has two emblems — the beaver and the maple. The beaver in his 

 sagacity, his industry, his ingenuity, and his perseverance, iS a most 

 respectable animal ; a much better emblem for our country than the 

 rapacious eagle or even the lordly lion ; but he is also a type of un- 

 varying instincts and Old World traditions. He does not improve, 

 and becomes extinct rather than change his ways. Some of our 

 artists have the bad taste to represent the beaver as perched on the 

 maple bough, a most unpleasant position for the poor animal, and 

 suggestive of the thought, that he is in the act of gnawing through 

 the trunk of our national tree (the maple). Perhaps some more 

 venturous designer may some day reverse the position, and represent 

 the maple branch as fashioned into a club, wherewith to knock the 

 beaver on the head. ' ' 



In answer to a special enquiry made at the of&ce of the Domin- 

 ion Archivist, Mr. Douglas Brymner writes : "I can find no refer- 

 ence to the Beaver in the Arms of Canada, nor is it mentioned in the 

 descriptions of the Great Seal. The first, so far as I can trace, to 

 make use of the Beaver as a crest, was Sir William Alexander, 

 raised to the peerage by the title of Viscount Sterling on the 4th 

 of September, 1630. The original intention was to grant him the 

 right to the Arms of New Scotland (Nova Scotia) quartered with 

 his own, whilst the new blazon indicated his new title of I^ord of 

 Canada, the new titles being only acquired in June, 1633. The crest 

 is thus described : ' For his crest on a wreath argent, sable : a beaver 

 proper.' " 



As almost everj' artist's idea of the way in which the beaver was 



