1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
The Beaver — (Castor canadensis.) 
The beaver is another of those interesting 
quadrupeds which the march of civilization ex- 
terminates. We are reminded constantly of the 
fact that they were once abundant throughout 
the Northern States, by the creeks, ponds and 
meadows which bear the marks of their wonder- 
ful engineering. It is a pleasant fancy that 
all the trades have 
their representatives 
among the brute 
creation; the Beaver 
is the civil engineer. 
Old beaver dams still 
stand, and, in not a 
few locations, are 
now busy mill-sites. 
The accumulated de- 
posits of silt and rub- 
bish carried down 
by the dammed-up 
streams, and deposit- 
ed in the slack wa- 
ter above the dams, 
form more perma- 
nent monuments to 
the beaver's indus- 
try, than the dams, 
which have, in the 
most cases, rotted 
and been washed 
away, while the de- 
posits above them 
have become cover- 
ed by swamp vege- 
tation, and, as " beaver meadows," perpetuate 
the memory of the industrious colonies once 
established upon them. The Beaver belongs to 
the family of the rodents — gnawers — distinguish- 
ed by two pairs of very strong, sharp, cutting, 
front teeth. They are found in both hemis- 
pheres, but most 
abundantly in North 
America, and are 
hunted and trapped 
for their fur, which 
is very valuable if 
taken in the winter 
season. They are 
from 2 to 3 feet in 
length, exclusive of 
the tail, which mea- 
sures about a foot, is 
' of oval form, flatten- 
ed laterally, and cov- 
ered with semi- 
horny scales instead 
of fur. The hind feet 
are webbed ; but the 
fore-feet are not. The 
body is low, squat 
on the hind feet, 
the cars small and 
rounded, and the fur 
is exceedingly fine, 
soft and close, thick- 
ly interspersed with 
coarse hairs. These 
hairs are removed by the process of "pluck- 
ing," when the fur is prepared for use. 
It is absurd to exaggerate psychological quali- 
ties in animals, especially if so remarkable as 
those possessed by the beaver. Nevertheless 
this has been done by most of the old writers 
who have listened to the trappers' marvelous 
tales. Beavers act in concert in fclliug small 
trees and floating them, and logs cut from them, 
down stream to form their dams. The trees are 
anchored by stones and gravel piled upon those 
parts of then' tops which rest upon the bottom ; 
and the dams are finished by building-in logs, 
stones and boughs, the interstices being filled 
with gravel; and mud. The dams are built or 
repaired in the summer when the water is low, 
and hi the autumn the beavers, in families of 4 
old, and 6 or 8 young ones, construct their houses, 
the beavee.- — (Castor canadensis.) 
which are made of sticks, stones and mud, piled 
in a broad circle, a chamber about 7 feet wide 
being left in the center, the floor of which is 
above usual high water. As the structure rises, it 
is contracted into a dome, the cavity being about 
3 feet high, and the thickness of the walls above 
%>- 
shrew MOLE, (Scalops aquaticus), AND star-nosed mole, (Condylura cristata.) 
and around being often from five to seven feet. 
The entrances to these lodges are all below 
the water level when the dam is full, and near 
and about them canals and channels are formed 
which communicate with their stores of food, 
which consists of the bark stripped from the 
logs used for their dams, and that of logs and 
boughs of the willow, aspen, poplar, and other 
soft wooded nou-resiuous trees. 
Beavers are not only valuable for their fur, 
but for the drug Castor, or Castoreum, which is 
found in sacks near the root of the tail, and is 
used in medicine. It is used also by the hunters 
as a means of attracting beavers to the trap. 
Beavers are easily domesticated, and as their 
food is willow bark, they might perhaps be 
economically bred and fed on the bark stripped 
from willows used for basket making. If not 
domesticated, this in- 
teresting animal will 
soon be extinct in 
the United States. 
Shrew Mole and 
Star-nosed Mole. 
The common Am- 
erican Mole is the 
Shrew Mole (Scalops 
aquaticus), though 
the Star-nosed Mole 
(Condylura cristata) 
is not rare. The for- 
mer is found in many 
gardens and fields 
where it does much 
benefit by destining 
grubs and worms in 
the soil, and some 
harm also in disturb- 
ing the roots of 
plants by its subter- 
ranean galleries. The 
question whether 
moles are, on the 
whole, friends or enemies, is worthy of dis- 
cussion. For our own part, considering their 
most ravenous appetites and the great amount 
of food they require to sustain life, which may 
easily be seen when one is caught alive and fed, 
we are inclined to regard them as friends. The 
family name, Talpi- 
dco, covers a number 
of similar genera in 
different parts of the 
world. They agree 
in living a short dis- 
tance below the sur- 
face of the ground, 
having stout, clumsy 
bodies, without ap- 
parent neck or ex- 
ternal ears, exceed- 
ingly small eyes and 
short legs, the fore- 
feet being generally 
very broad and arm- 
ed with strong claws. 
In all, the senses of 
smell, hearing, and 
feeling, are very 
acute. Thev are able 
to move swiftly 
about in their gal- 
leries, and to extend 
them with great ease 
and rapidity. The 
fur of .the Shrew 
Mole, and of moles in general, is of exqui- 
site fineness, and lies in no particular direc- 
tion. The Star-nosed Mole has coarser fur, and 
the termination of its snout is a very remarkable 
fringe of fleshy points. "We have besides, three 
other moles in the United States, the BSvsr Mole 
of the Prairies; the Hairy-tailed Molaot the 
New England and Middle States, and the Ore- 
gon Mole found all along the Pacific coast. 
