476 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. 



BEAVERS. 



Beavers have been exterminated over a very large portion 

 of the country. They are now well protected by law in 

 most of the States in which they are still found, and their 

 numbers and distribution are gradually increasing. Being 

 very shy creatures and mainly nocturnal, they are rarely 

 seen, but their dams and tree cuttings are unmistakable 

 signs of their presence. 



They feed mainly on herbage of various sorts and on the 

 bark of such trees as cottonwood, poplar, maple, and birch, 

 which for winter use they cut into pieces several feet long 

 and carry to their ponds to be peeled under the ice during 

 the winter. They build dams to control the depth of their 

 ponds, construct houses, and dig burrows having entrances 

 under water. When they cut their winter's supply of food 

 at some distance from their pond, they drag it over well- 

 worn paths to the water. The trapper frequently sets a 

 No. 4 double-spring trap at the end of these paths where 

 the water is 4 or 5 inches deep, or again at the entrance of 

 a burrow. In any case he provides for drowning a cap- 

 tured beaver by slipping a smooth pole through the ring 

 at the end of the trap chain and driving the small end of it 

 firmly into the bottom where the water is deep, fastening 

 the large end on the bank above with stakes or heavy stones. 

 On being caught a beaver immediately dives, the ring of 

 the trap chain slides down the pole, and the animal, held 

 under water, soon drowns. 



The tail and feet of the beaver are not left on the skin, 

 which is stretched flat and as nearly round as possible. The 

 common way of doing this is to sew or lace it to a hoop some- 

 what larger than the skin. The long podlike glands known 

 as beaver castor, found just beneath the skin in front of 

 the genital organs in both sexes, are in demand by trappers 

 and raw-fur buyers. After they are removed from the 

 skinned carcass the outlets are tied up to prevent leakage 

 and they are hung up to dry in a cool place. They are used 

 by manufacturers of perfumes and by trappers in making 

 scent baits. 



