so much so that even men cannot destroy them without a great deal of labour. The mud and moss at the bottom are rooted up with the animal's snout, somewhat in the manner hogs work in the earth, and clay and grasses are stuffed and plastered in between the sticks, roots, and branches, in so workmanlike a way as to render the structure quite water-tight. The dams are sometimes

seven or eight feet high, and are from ten to twelve feet wide at the bottom, but are built up with the sides inclining towards each other, so as to form a narrow surface on the top. They are occasionally as much as three hundred yards in length, and often extend beyond the bed of the stream in a circular form, so as to overflow all the timber near the margin, which the Beavers cut down for food during winter, heap together in large quantities, and so fasten to the shore under the surface of the water, that even a strong current cannot tear it away; although they generally place it in such a position that the current does not pass over it. These piles or heaps of wood are placed in front of the lodges, and when the animal wishes to feed. he proceeds to them, takes a piece of wood, and drags it to one of the small holes near the principal entrance running above the water, although beneath the surface of the ground. Here the bark is devoured at leisure, and the wood is afterwards thrust out, or used in repairing the dam. These small galleries are more or less abundant according to the number of animals in the lodges. The larger lodges are, in the interior, about seven feet in diameter, and between two and three feet high, resembling a great oven. They are placed near the edge of the water, although actually built on or in the ground. In front, the Beavers scratch away the mud to secure a depth of water that will enable them to sink their wood deep enough to prevent its being impacted in the ice when the dam is frozen over, and also to allow them always free egress from their lodges, so that they may go to the dam and repair it if necessary. The top of the lodge is formed by placing branches of trees matted with mud, grasses, moss, &c., together, until the whole fabric measures on the outside from twelve to twenty feet in diameter, and is six or eight feet high, the size depending on the number of inhabitants. The outward coating is entirely of mud or earth, and smoothed off as if plastered with a trowel. As Beavers, however, never work in the daytime, no person we believe has yet seen how they perform their task, or give this hard-finish to their houses. This species does not use its fore-feet in swimming, but for carrying burthens: this

can be observed by watching the young ones, which suffer their fore-feet to drag by the side of the body, using only the hind-feet to propel themselves through the water. Before diving, the Beaver gives a smart slap with its tail on the water, making a noise that may be heard a considerable distance, but in swimming, the tail is not seen to work, the animal being entirely submerged except the nose and part of the head; it swims fast and well, but with nothing like the speed of the otter, (Lutra Canadensis.)

The Beavers cut a broad ditch all round their lodge, so deep that it cannot freeze to the bottom, and into this ditch they make the holes already spoken of, through which they go in and out and bring their food. The beds of these singular animals are separated slightly from each other, and are placed around the wall, or circumference of the interior of the lodge; they are formed merely of a few grasses, or the tender bark of trees: the space in the centre of the lodge being left unoccupied. The Beavers usually go to the dam every evening to see if repairs are needed, and to deposit their ordure in the water near the dam, or at least at some distance from their lodge.

They rarely travel by land, unless their dams have been carried away by the ice, and even then they take the beds of the rivers or streams for their roadway. In cutting down trees they are not always so fortunate as to have them fall into the water, or even towards it, as the trunks of trees cut down by these animals are observed lying in various positions; although as most trees on the margin of a stream or river lean somewhat towards the water, or have their largest branches extended over it, many of those cut down by the Beavers naturally fall in that direction.

It is a curious fact, says our trapper, that among the Beavers there are some that are lazy and will not work at all, either to assist in building lodges or dams, or to cut down wood for their winter stock. The industrious ones beat these idle fellows, and drive them away; sometimes cutting off a part of their tail, and otherwise injuring them. These "Paresseux" are more easily caught in traps than the others, and the trapper rarely misses one of them. They only dig a hole from the water running obliquely towards the surface of the ground twenty-five or thirty feet, from which they emerge when hungry, to obtain food, returning to the same hole with the wood they procure, to eat the bark.

They never form dams, and are sometimes to the number of five or seven together; all are males. It is not at all improbable, that

these unfortunate fellows have, as is the case with the males of many species of animals, been engaged in fighting with others of their sex, and after having been conquered and driven away from the lodge, have become idlers from a kind of necessity. The working Beavers, on the contrary, associate, males, females, and young together.

Beavers are caught, and found in good order at all seasons of the year in the Rocky Mountains; for in those regions the atmosphere is never warm enough to injure the fur; in the low-lands, however, the trappers rarely begin to capture them before the first of September, and they relinquish the pursuit about the last of May. This is understood to be along the Missouri, and the (so called) Spanish country.

CARTWRIGHT, (vol. i., p. 62.) found a Beaver that weighed fortyfive pounds; and we were assured that they have been caught weighing sixty-one pounds before being cleaned. The only portions of their flesh that are considered fine eating, are the sides of the belly, the rump, the tail, and the liver. The tail, so much spoken of by travellers and by various authors, as being very delicious eating, we did not think equalled their descriptions. It has nearly the taste of beef marrow, but is rather oily, and cannot be partaken of unless in a very moderate quantity, except by one whose stomach is strong enough to digest the most greasy sub

stances.

Beavers become very fat at the approach of autumn; but during winter they fall off in flesh, so that they are generally quite poor by spring, when they feed upon the bark of roots, and the roots, of various aquatic plants, some of which are at that season white, tender, and juicy. During winter, when the ice is thick and strong, the trappers hunt the Beaver in the following manner. A hole is cut in the ice as near as possible to the aperture leading to the dwelling of the animal, the situation of which is first ascertained; a green stick is placed firmly in front of it, and a smaller stick on each side, about a foot from the stick of green wood; the bottom is then patted or beaten smooth and even, and a strong stake is set into the ground to hold the chain of the trap, which is placed within a few inches of the stick of green wood, well baited, and the Beaver, attracted either by the fresh bark or the bait, is almost always caught. Although when captured in this manner, the animal struggles, diving and swimming about in its efforts to escape, it never cuts off a foot in order to obtain its liberty; probably be

cause it is drowned before it has had time to think of this method of saving itself from the hunter. When trapping under other circumstances, the trap is placed within five or six inches of the shore, and about the same distance below the surface of the water, secured and baited as usual. If caught, the Beavers now and then cut off the foot by which they are held, in order to make their escape.

A singular habit of the Beaver was mentioned to us by the trapper, PREVOST, of which we do not recollect having before heard. He said that when two Beaver lodges are in the vicinity of each other, the animals proceed from one of them at night to a certain spot, deposit their castoreum, and then return to their lodge. The Beavers in the other lodge, scenting this, repair to the same spot, cover it over with earth, and then make a similar deposit on the top. This operation is repeated by each party alternately until quite a mound is raised, sometimes to the height of four or five feet.

The strong musky substance contained in the glands of the Beaver, is called castoreum; by trappers, bark-stone; with this the traps are baited. A small stick, four or five inches long, is chewed at one end, and that part dipped in the castoreum, which is generally kept in a small horn. The stick is then placed with the anointed end above water, and the other end downwards. The Beaver can smell the castoreum at least one hundred yards, makes towards it at once, and is generally caught.

Where Beavers have not been disturbed or hunted, and are abundant, they rise nearly half out of water at the first smell of the castoreum, and become so excited that they are heard to cry aloud, and breathe hard to catch the odour as it floats on the air. A good trapper used to catch about eighty Beavers in the autumn, sixty or seventy in the spring, and upwards of three hundred in the summer, in the mountains; taking occasionally as many as five hundred in one year. Sixty or seventy Beaver skins are required to make a pack weighing one hundred pounds; which, when sent to a good market, is worth, even now, from three to four hundred dollars.

It is stated by some authors that the Beaver feeds on fish. We doubt whether he posesses this habit, as we on several occasions placed fish before those we saw in captivity, and although they were not very choice in their food, and devoured any kind of vegetable, and even bread, they in every case suffered fish to remain untouched in their cages.

The food of this species, in a state of nature, consists of the bark of several kinds of trees and shrubs, and of bulbous and other roots. It is particularly fond of the bark of the birch, (Betula,) the cotton-wood, (Populus,) and of several species of willow, (Salix ;) it feeds also with avidity on the roots of some aquatic plants, especially on those of the Nuphair luteum. In summer, when it sometimes wanders to a distance from the water, it eats berries, leaves, and various kinds of herbage.

The young are born in the months of April and May; those produced in the latter month are the most valuable, as they grow rapidly and become strong and large, not being checked in their growth, which is often the case with those that are born earlier in the season. Some females have been taken in July, with young, but such an event is of rare occurrence. The eyes of the young Beaver are open at birth. The dam at times brings forth as many as seven at a litter, but from two to five is the more usual number. The young remain with the mother for at least a year, and not unfrequently two years, and when they are in a place of security where an abnndance of food is to be procured, ten or twelve Beavers dwell together.

About a month after their birth, the young first follow the mother, and accompany her in the water; they continue to suckle some time longer, although if caught at that tender age, they can be raised without any difficulty, by feeding them with tender branches of willows and other trees. Many Beavers from one to two months old are caught in traps set for old ones. The gravid female keeps aloof from the male until after the young have begun to follow her about. She resides in a separate lodge till the month of August, when the whole family once more dwell together."

ARTICLE XVI.-Hints to the Young Botanist, regarding the collection, naming and preserving of Plants.

The season for collecting plants in the vicinity of Montreal may be said to commence towards the latter end of April and to extend to the beginning of October. But few plants will reward the early excursions of the botanist, who will measure their value and interest proportionally. Immediately on the melting of the snow, appear the Hepatica triloba, with its purplish-white flowers, the