THE BEAVER IN NORWAY. 45 



these retired and circumspect animals. Still they may not have 

 subsisted here in any great numbers, as it was only complete 

 ignorance of their existence which led to the present speci- 

 men being killed, in a ditch along the main road through 

 Suldal, near the farm Kvalstad. But in this manner, having 

 once ascertained their existence, one has been able to find 

 undoubted traces of them, not only at Suldalslaagen, but at 

 several other places in Suldal. Near a mountain cottage called 

 Gaaringsmoen, Beaver-huts, in course of construction, have been 

 discovered." 



Besides these data furnished by Captain Kolbenstvedt, I am 

 informed by the merchant K. Bertelsen that during a shooting trip 

 in the autumn (J 892) he had observed, near the farm Naerheien in 

 Suldal, and at a height of about 600-800 feet above the sea, 

 a considerable number of trees which had, without doubt, been 

 felled by Beavers. He had taken away some chips of wood that 

 were, incontestably, the work of this the largest Norwegian 

 rodent. He found no Beaver dwellings, but some cut-off stocks 

 of wood had been brought (by Beavers) to the bank of a little 

 river and there arranged in order, so that this might be supposed 

 to be the beginning of a hut. Along the bank he also saw a big 

 hole which, he presumed, had been dug by them. 



It is thus proved that the Beaver is an inhabitant of the 

 Stavanger Amt, but whether it occurs in more localities than at 

 Suldal is still an open question. Now that our sportsmen and 

 anglers have had their attention drawn to this fact, this species 

 may be discovered in other parts of Ryfylke, where the natural 

 conditions seem adapted to its mode of life. 



Inasmuch as the Beaver may only be shot during the months 

 of August, September, and October, and since for killing it out of 

 season there is a fine of 80 crowns, applicable to all who participate 

 in this infraction — so that the three men who killed the specimen 

 referred to had to pay 240 crowns between them — it is possible 

 that this species may spread in the fjord districts of the govern- 

 ment ; but it is doubtful whether an animal, which was so 

 exceedingly valuable in former times, will ever again be shot with 

 profit. The Beaver is not so prolific as other rodents; added 

 to this, neither the skin nor the castoreum — at one time so highly 

 esteemed— is in such demand as formerly. 



As every animal killed in contravention of the law belongs 



