4i8 



RECREATION. 



MORE DAM TIMBER. 



dustry has become proverbial. This dam 

 was a double breastwork of logs, sticks and 

 mud, the upper dam probably built after the 

 lower one, in order to further increase the 

 depth of water, thereby giving the beavers 

 easier access to, and water transport for 

 their food, which grew on the banks 

 above. 



At the head of this lake I discovered the 

 largest specimen of a beaver lodge, or 

 house, I have ever seen. It rose to a 

 height of 8 feet or more above water level, 

 and was at least 20 feet across at the sur- 

 face of the lake, extending wider below. 

 As an instance of the perseverance of the 

 beaver I relate this anecdote : 



On the banks of the Kettle river, below 

 the lake, were living a party of placer 

 miners, who were washing the auriferous 

 gravel of the river bank, and were using 



the water of the beaver lake for the pur- 

 pose. The miners had a ditch, about ]/ 2 a 

 mile in length, tapping the lake at the op- 

 posite end, the natural outlet, which the 

 beavers had dammed. The cunning animals 

 soon discovered the leak and persistently 

 dammed the sluice each night, so the miners 

 had a walk each morning of l / 2 a mile over 

 logs and through swamp before they could 

 start to wash for gold. This greatly an- 

 noyed them. After it had gone on for a 

 week or 2, the miners appealed to me in 

 their desperation to free them from their 

 dilemma. I showed them how to set their 

 trap, and one morning a fine large beaver 

 was found, hoisted high and dry on a toss- 

 ing pole. After that there was no more 

 trouble with the water supply. 



There is a considerable difference of 

 opinion concerning the weight of a full 

 grown beaver. Some trappers I have met 

 claim they have caught beavers weighing 

 60 or 70 pounds, which I think is over the 

 mark. The largest beaver I have caught, 

 with a 50 pound flour sack, would, I should 

 judge, weigh about 40 pounds, comparing 

 them. A beaver that I put the tape on 

 measured 3 feet 11 inches, from tip of nose, 

 to end of tail, before being skinned. The 

 tail was one foot long and 6 inches wide. 



Both male and female beavers are 

 equipped by nature with oil glands and 

 bark bags (castoreum) situated at the root 

 of the tail. The castoreum is used by 

 pharmacists in compounding a medicine 

 and by trappers as a lure for beaver and 

 lynx, the oil glands furnishing the beaver 

 with waterproofing for his furry coat. 



About the middle of May the female 

 gives birth to 2 to 4 young, which she 

 suckles at her breast. Some trappers claim 

 that all but 2 of the young of each litter 

 are killed, but of this I have no proof. 



Professor Wilson, of Edinburgh, wrote 

 on the blackboard in his laboratory : 



"Professor Wilson informs his students 

 that he has this day been appointed hon- 

 orary physician to the queen;" and a stu- 

 dent added "God save the queen.'' — Chicago 

 Herald. 



