1897] Bæveren i Norge, dens Udbredelse og Levemaade. 121 



In the double lodge, previously referred to (p. 120) which 1 

 opened in 1895, the left, short lodge contained an unoccupied 

 chamber without lining. The right, which was long, and of consi- 

 derable age, extended for some way under an oak coppice. The 

 chamber in this was situated about six métres from the water, half 

 a métre under ground, and consisted of an enlargement of the passage 

 to about three-quarters of a métre in height. 



It was lined with a thick nest of long thin pieces of bast 

 of the Aspen, these being about 150 mm., in length. (See Pl. IV). 



Another lodge, on Lille Aaslandsø in Aamli, which I broke 

 into in 1896, was easy of access, and might have been opened with 

 the bare hand. It lay on a sloping rock, and had no comumni- 

 cation with the soil above it. 



The passage was rather short; the roof formed of a dense 

 layer of branches supermounted by earth, above which again lay 

 coarse branches. (Pl. III). 



•The nest (which contanied three young ones), situated about 

 the centre of the lodge, was composed of a layer of fine chips, a 

 few inches in thickness, torn from the twigs whose bark had been 

 eaten by the Beaver. The length of the chips was 150 — 200 Millim. 



Above the nest, 1 métre further up the passage, there was 

 a spare chamber, which was quite a necessity, as the water level 

 was raised so much once a week (for the sake of floating the tim- 

 ber) that, in all probability, the true nest was flooded each time. 



The Age of the Lodges. The Lodges are repaired, each year, 

 after the injury suffered by them from the flow of ice and floating 

 of timber. They are fit for habitation for possibly 20 to 30 years. 

 During heavy floods in the Spring and Autumn, the lodge is often 

 entirely submerged, and large bits of it loosened, and swept away. 



Burrows. Numerous Burrows are to be founcl, on the banks 

 •of the river, near the Lodges, of which some are in connection with 

 the latter, but most not. They are inhabited, especially by young 

 indivicluals. The entrance is often hidden by grass, is occasionally 

 under water, while a smooth, beaten track leads from the water's 

 edge to the entrance of the Burrow. (Pl. XI). 



The Burrows are the first refuges formed by the Beaver at 

 those spots where it intends to settle down, and build. 



