THE BEAVER IN NORWAY 
Hap not the use of its hair in the manufacture of hats 
been superseded by that of silk, there is little doubt that 
the beaver, both in the Old World and in America, would 
by this time have been numbered among extinct animals. 
As it is, the creature has but a hard time of it at best, 
for although there is no longer a demand for its hair by the 
hat-manufacturer, yet beaver-fur is an article highly valued 
by the furrier, and equally highly esteemed by the fair 
sex. Although a few survive in the Rhone and the Rhine, 
while more numerous colonies are found in parts of Russia, 
the beaver has been practically swept away from most 
European countries, though place-names frequently bear 
testimony to its former presence. Among the countries 
where it still maintains a foothold is Norway, where Dr. 
Robert Collett, the well-known Zoological Professor at the 
University of Christiania, has described its present condition 
and habits. 
It appears that for some years the beaver has enjoyed 
a certain amount of protection in Norway, and if this pro- 
tection be continued, Dr. Collett is of opinion that the 
animal will survive well into this century. The two most 
important colonies now remaining are situated at Aamli 
and Nedrethelemarken. 
The Norwegian beaver began to decrease in numbers 
from the early part or middle of the eighteenth century, 
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