quiet of the night his inspiration; his sharp teeth are his hatchet and chisel; and his little paws are his means of conveyance, his spade, his hammer and his trowel. His hard, flat, hairless and scaly tail is a propeller when swimming and a balance when he is cutting timber, for he stands on his hind legs while gnawing down trees.
The trees which furnish bark most liked by beavers for food are the cottonwood, poplar, elm, willow, birch, aspen and box-elder. The bark of the oak, ash, and hickory are not eaten. The Beaver’s diet consist chiefly of barks, tender shoots and water plants. He is a strict vegetarian.
Sometimes the beavers have to build a dam exceeding fifty feet in length to flood low ground. They usually lay it out with the curve pointing up stream. The foundations of Beaver dams are built of poles, four or five feet in length by one or two inches in diameter. These he lays cross-wise, filling all crevices with mud.
He digs up mud with his forefeet, then holds it close to his breast with his forelegs, swims to where he has started his dam, and beats the mud
