RILEY — BEAVER CULTURE 
199 
The beaver also supplied another article of commerce, a secretion from two 
small glands of the body. This was always known in the commerce of the moun- 
tains as castorum. In the arts it is more commonly called castor. In the moun- 
tains its value was about three dollars per pound. The castorum was used as the 
beaver^s bait, and thus the little animal itself supplied the means of alluring its 
race to destruction. The extensive use of the beaver fur in the early years of 
the century caused an increase in exportation from America to Europe, reaching 
as high as 200,000 skins annually. This great draught on the supply led to the 
rapid extermination of the beaver. 
In Mr. Chittenden’s book, The Yellowstone, is the following state- 
ment: ^‘but a business carried on with such relentless vigor naturally 
soon taxed the resources of nature beyond its capacity of reproduction. 
In regions under the control of a single organization, as in the vast 
domains of the Hudson Bay Company, great care was taken to pre- 
serve the fur-bearing animals from extinction. In the United States 
territory the excess of competition made any such provision 
impossible. ” 
There is not an instance in any section of the country of a departure 
from the original destructive policy. It is true, protective laws have 
been passed by many of the states but under the existence of the laws 
there has been no systematic study of a plan for stable production. 
The growing sentiment for wild life preservation coupled with the 
realization of the place beavers fill as water conservers in the irrigation 
regions has done much to direct attention towards better methods of 
protection. This has been particularly noticeable in those states 
where there has been a closed season and the animals have increased 
to such an extent that a cry has been raised of damage to crops. Those 
who wish to prey upon the beaver seek to gain their ends by noising 
their destructive tendencies. 
There is no question about the damage done by beavers to both 
ditches and crops, so their development in an agricultural district 
requires constant attention to prevent damage. In face of this fact 
there are. many ranchmen or agriculturalists who accept the trouble 
entailed by the animals for the satisfaction of having them upon their 
property. 
In Colorado, which has had a closed season for many years, with 
a provision in the law for taking such animals as cause damage, 
the beavers have, in spite of the wholesale disregard of the law, in- 
creased to such an extent that repeated efforts are being made to 
change the law so that the animal can be taken without restriction. 
This shows their persistence and what might be done with them where 
