56 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 
the purpose of resting. From the very different 
heights of the stumps it is obvious that the 
beaver follows no hard and fast rule in cutting. 
Frequently stumps four or five feet in height are 
found. These of course are done when the ground 
is covered with well-packed or ice-coated snow, 
except in cases where the animal stands on a con- 
venient log or mound of earth, and so reaches high 
enough to avoid the bulging part of the trunk near 
the ground. That the beaver ever make piles of 
earth for the purpose of having an elevated plat- 
form is hard to believe, notwithstanding what has 
been written on that subject. The origin of such 
stories is probably the mounds of moss-covered 
earth or decayed tree stumps which are so often 
found close against growing trees, marking perhaps 
the tombstone of the parent of the existing tree. 
These mounds are quickly worn down by the 
beaver standing on them so that they have the 
appearance of being made of freshly collected mud 
or earth. 
In cutting, the beaver sometimes stands erect 
and cuts as high as he can reach, then again, judg- 
ing from the very low stumps, some of them 
stand on all fours, but the usual method is to 
stand on the hind feet with the broad tail stretched 
out behind to act as a balance. Either one or 
both front feet or hands are placed on the. trunk. 
In most cases, the cutting is done all round the 
tree as shown in some of the photographs, while 
