162 
NATURE STUDY. 
. one part of the room, (for he generally chose the same 
place,) he proceeded to wall up the space between the feet 
of a chest of drawers which stood at a little distance from 
it, high enough on its" legs to make the bottom a roof for 
him; using for this purpose dried turf and sticks, which he 
laid very even, and filling up the interstices with bits of 
coal, hay, cloth, or anything he could pick up. This last 
place he seemed to appropriate for his dwelling; the former 
work seemed to be intended for a dam. When he had 
walled up the space between the feet of the chest of draw¬ 
ers, he proceeded to carry in sticks, clothes, hay, cotton¬ 
wool, etc., and to make a nest. When he had done this 
to his satisfaction, he would sit up under the drawers and 
comb himself with the nails of his hind feet. In this oper¬ 
ation, that which appeared at first to be a malformation 
was shown to be a beautiful adaptation to the necessi¬ 
ties of the animal. The huge webbed hind-feet of the 
beaver turn in so as to give the appearance of deformity; 
but if the toes were straight, instead of being incurved, the 
animal could not use them so readily for the purpose of 
keeping his fur in order, and cleansing it from dirt and 
moisture. 
Binny generally carried small and light articles between 
his right foreleg and his chin, walking on the other three 
legs; and huge masses, which he could not grasp readily 
with his teeth, he pushed forwards, leaning against them 
with his right forepaw and his chin. He never carried 
anything on his tail, which he liked to dip in water, but 
he was not fond of plunging in the whole of his body. If 
his tail was kept moist he never cared to drink; but if it 
was kept dry it became hot, and the animal appeared dis¬ 
tressed, and would drink a great deal. 
The editor has given a great deal of time and labor to 
the compilation of a list of the more common birds of New 
England. This list, with an English index, and space for 
notes, has been brought out by the Nature Study press 
in a tasteful and convenient form for the use of the bird- 
lover in walks afield. Stout paper covers; 25 cents post¬ 
paid. 
