42 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 
much careful planning. Good sites for house and 
dam are not found everywhere, neither is an 
adjacent food supply, while for the combination 
they must have to search over many weary miles. 
It would be most interesting to know their 
methods. Do they deliberately go out on “‘ house- 
hunting” expeditions, examining everything as 
they go along, and following each stream either to 
find its source, or discover springs which will ensure 
sufficient water in the stream during the dry 
season ? Whatever is their method, the results are 
in nearly all cases eminently successful. The work 
of hunting for a suitable place to establish a house 
is done during the summer months, for then the 
beavers do not usually occupy their lodge. They 
wander about the country, nearly always following 
the waterways. If, for any reason, it is their 
intention to found a new colony, they remain in 
what seems a desirable situation, living in bank 
burrows instead of lodges, while the possibilities 
are thoroughly investigated and plans apparently 
made for building the dam. A stream flowing 
through country well wooded with poplars and 
hardwoods is usually chosen, and the work begins at 
any time during the summer, though more often 
towards the approach of autumn. Sometimes, 
indeed, no attempt is made until as late as the 
beginning of cool weather, but there seems to be 
every reason for believing that they prefer the time 
when the streams are at their lowest, which is 
