be lost by radiation through three feet of mud 
and sticks. 
The sticks used in the work of building 
were brought from the slashing, many of them 
coming from the big poplar which Father 
Beaver and Mother Beaver had recently felled. 
The preparation of the material for its use 
in construction was greatly helped by the fact 
that, for the time being, all the members of 
the colony were making their meals off the 
bark of that tree. 
However, the wood had not only to be 
peeled, but also cut into building lengths, be¬ 
fore it was ready to be transported to the site 
of the new lodge; and this work fell to the 
forest crew. This crew consisted of Father 
Beaver, Mother Beaver, Shovel-tail and Uncle 
Castor, all of them skillful foresters. They 
made use of no yard sticks or tape lines, and 
they kept no tally of the work done; yet there 
was always just about the right proportion 
of sticks of each length needed by the builders. 
As fast as the sticks were made ready by 
the foresters, another relay of beavers seized 
upon them and dragged them to the canal, 
by way of the path which had been cleared 
through the underbrush for that purpose. At 
the canal, each stick was turned over to a 
beaver, who was there waiting for it. This 
beaver, carrying the stick, either with his fore 
77 
