GNAWERS. 



65 



the roots of plants. They are savage and offer battle 

 to man. If two are placed together, they instantly 

 attack each other, and the stronger eats up the weaker. 



Beavers. 



Beavers are about three feet long to the tail, and are 

 the largest of the Rodents, excepting an animal called 

 the Capybara which lives about the rivers of South 

 America. Beavers have a flat, scaly tail, and are wholly 

 aquatic in their habits. Their food is chiefly bark 

 and aquatic plants. Their teeth are very sharp and 



Fig. 92 — Anieiic.in Beaver. 



powerful, enabling them to gnaw down trees of the 

 hardest wood. Beavers prefer running water, that the 

 wood which they cut may be carried to the desired 

 spot. They keep the water at a given height by dams, 

 built of trees and branches mixed with stones and 

 mud; winter houses are built of the same materials. 

 Each house consists of two stories ; the upper is above 

 water and dry, and serves as a shelter; the lower is be- 



NAT. Ilisr. AN. — 5 



