210 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 
skin, very dark in colour and with a few short 
hairs projecting from between the scaly ridges on 
the upper side. The tail is actuated by powerful 
muscles, which enable the animal to strike the 
water with extraordinary force. 
A beaver’s head resembles a cross between a 
Under Molar 
pee Naturat Size 
Lower jaw of beaver with the near side of jaw cut away in 
order to show the total length of the incisor tooth and 
the comparatively small amount that projects. Upper 
figures are the molars or grinding teeth (% natural size). 
squirrel and a rat, though in some ways it is 
perhaps more like a guinea-pig. It is well coated 
with hair and fur except the nostrils. The face 
has five rows of bristles between the nostrils and 
mouth, and a few bristles over the eye, which is 
very small, only half an inch in diameter. The 
ears are short, dark, and hairy. But the most 
