THE BEAVER IN NORWAY 247 
direction. Only healthy trees are selected for felling, 
and sometimes these are left half gnawed through without 
any apparent reason. No attempt appears to be made 
to make the trees fall in any particular direction, as they 
may be seen lying pointing all ways. The trunks and 
boughs, after being stripped of their bark, are cut into 
convenient lengths and employed for building, the current 
being used for their transport whenever practicable. Many 
lodges are, however, constructed in still water, and the 
animals are then compelled to convey the timber by their 
own exertions, this being effected by holding the log in 
the water between the fore-paws and swimming with the 
hind-feet. 
The construction of the lodge is a serious business, 
occupying at least two years, and annual repairs are 
necessary to keep it in habitable condition. Building 
operations take place in the autumn, lasting from Sep- 
tember till well into November, and as they are nearly 
always undertaken at night, it is but seldom that an 
opportunity occurs of seeing the animals at work. In 
Norway the lodges are either conical or elliptical in shape, 
the majority being now of the latter type. The conical 
lodges, which appear to have been more common formerly 
than they are at present, are placed on the banks of ponds 
in which the water level is constant, such ponds being 
either natural or made by the animals damming up the 
stream. On the other hand, the elliptical or elongated 
lodges are invariably formed on the banks of a river with 
running water subject to constant change of level. Although 
the majority are considerably smaller, they may be as 
much as fifty feet in length, the width seldom exceeding 
eight or nine feet. One half generally lies under water, 
and thus prevents the edifice from being left high and dry 
