QUADRUPEDS. 67 
sharp, and strong, well calculated for the business which 
Nature has destined him to. The tail is of an oval form, 
and covered with a scaly skin. 
Beavers are natives of North America, particularly the 
north of Canada. Their houses are constructed with 
earth, stones, and sticks, neatly arranged and worked 
together by the Beaver's paws. The walls are about 
two feet thick, and they are surmounted by a kind 
of dome, which generally rises about four feet above 
them. The entrance is on one side, always at least 
three feet below the surface of the water, so as to 
prevent it from being frozen up. The number of 
Beavers in each house is from two to four old ones, and 
about twice as many young. When Beavers form a new 
settlement, they build their houses in the summer ; and 
then they lay in their winter provisions, which consist 
principally of bark and the tender branches of trees, cut 
into certain lengths, and piled in heaps on the outside of 
their habitation, and always under the water ; though 
sometimes the heap is so large as to rise above the surface; 
and occasionally one of these loads will contain more 
than a cart-load of bark, young wood, and the roots of 
the water-lily. 
Beavers are hunted for the sake of their skins, which 
are covered with long hairs, and a short thick fur beneath, 
which is used in making hats, after the long hairs have 
been destroyed. 
A great many stories have long been believed respect- 
ing the Beaver, on the authority of a French gentleman 
who had resided a long time in North America ; but it is 
now ascertained that the greater part of them are false. 
The house of the Beaver is not divided into rooms, but 
consists of only one apartment ; and the animals do not 
use their tails either as a trowel or a sledge, but only as 
an assistance in swimming. Some years ago a Beaver 
was brought to this country from America, that had been 
