24 CASTOR FIBER. 



way of life, form themselves into companies, and, instructed by 

 instinct, begin to provide for the wants of the season, and set 

 about constructing those habitations which have so long excited the 

 wonder and admiration of mankind.* 



Beavers are hunted in the winter season, both for their fur, and 

 for the castor, which is not peculiar to the male, as once supposed, 

 but is found in both sexes. When the animal is taken, the follicles 

 are cut off entire, and dried cither by exposure to the sun, or in 

 smoke. The castor is at first of the consistence of syrup, but soon 

 becomes solid, viscid, and even dry and friable. That which 

 comes from Russia is the most valuable, and sells at a much higher 

 price than what is imported from America. The membranous 

 pouches of the Russian castor are larger than those of Canada, 

 dry, of a roundish or pyramidal form, very heavy, and appearing 

 when cut of a deep liver colour. The pouch which constitutes the 

 Canadian castor is about the size of an hen's egg, or rather larger, 

 dry, thin, of a reddish-brown colour, and covered externally with a 

 very tough corrugated membrane. The goodness of the castor is de- 

 termined by its sensible qualities ; when it has been long kept it be- 

 comes black, insipid, inodorous, or very soft, and is rendered unfit 

 for medicinal purposes. It is said to be sometimes counterfeited 

 in this country, by a mixture of galbanum, ammoniacum, and other 

 resinous substances, with a little real castor, artificially interspersed 

 with membranes, and stuffed into the scrotum of a goat. " Qui- 

 conque," says M. Fee, "a vendu castoreum ne peut se laisser 

 abuser par cette fraude grossiere.f 



Castor has a strong, pungent, disagreable smell, and a sub-acrid, 

 bitterish, nauseous taste. It is usually dry, solid, of a reddish- 

 brown colour externally, feels unctuous, and is mixed internally 

 with whitish membranes. The active matter of castor is dissolved 

 by ether, alcohol, proof spirit, and partially by water. According 



• For a more detailed account of the natural history and hahits of the Beaver the 

 reader may consult Button's Natural History of Quadrupeds, Du Pratz's History 

 of Louisiana. Cartwrig-ht's Journal of Transactions, <Sjc. on the Coast of 

 Labrador, and HearDe 1 s Journey to the Norther n Ocean. 



f Cours d'Hiitoirc Naturelle Pharmaceutique, i. p. 96. 



