The feeding place is below; in this is stored the wood or the bark on
which they feed. The entrance to this is under water, and hidden from
sight; but it is there that the cunning hunter sets his trap to catch the
unsuspecting beavers.
"A beaver's house is large enough to allow two men a comfortable
sleeping-room, and it is kept very clean. It is built of sticks, stones,
and mud, and is well plastered outside and in. The trowel the beaver uses
in plastering is his tail; this is considered a great delicacy at the
table. Their beds are made of chips, split as fine as the brush of an
Indian broom, these are disposed in one corner, and kept dry and sweet and
clean. It is the bark of the green wood that is used by the beavers for
food; after the stick is peeled, they float it out at a distance from the
house. Many good housewives might learn a lesson of neatness and order
from the humble beaver.
[Illustration: BEAVERS MAKING A DAM]
"In large lakes and rivers the beavers make no dams, they have water
enough without putting themselves to that trouble; but in small creeks
they dam up, and make a better stop-water than is done by the millers. The
spot where they build their dams is the most labour-saving place in the
valley, and where the work will stand best.
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