LESSON XXIII.
THE ANCIENT BUILDER.
“Again the mossy earth looks forth, again the streams run clear;The fox his hillside cell forsakes, the musk rat leaves his nook,The blue-bird in the meadow brakes is singing with the brook;‘Bear up, O mother nature,’ cry bird, breeze, and streamlet free,‘Our winter voices prophesy of summer days to thee.’”
“Again the mossy earth looks forth, again the streams run clear;The fox his hillside cell forsakes, the musk rat leaves his nook,The blue-bird in the meadow brakes is singing with the brook;‘Bear up, O mother nature,’ cry bird, breeze, and streamlet free,‘Our winter voices prophesy of summer days to thee.’”
“Again the mossy earth looks forth, again the streams run clear;The fox his hillside cell forsakes, the musk rat leaves his nook,The blue-bird in the meadow brakes is singing with the brook;‘Bear up, O mother nature,’ cry bird, breeze, and streamlet free,‘Our winter voices prophesy of summer days to thee.’”
“Again the mossy earth looks forth, again the streams run clear;
The fox his hillside cell forsakes, the musk rat leaves his nook,
The blue-bird in the meadow brakes is singing with the brook;
‘Bear up, O mother nature,’ cry bird, breeze, and streamlet free,
‘Our winter voices prophesy of summer days to thee.’”
—Whittier.
THE WONDERFUL BUILDER.
THE WONDERFUL BUILDER.
One of the most celebrated animals in the world is the beaver. This creature belongs to the mammalian order, Rodentia, or the “gnawers.” The mammals of this order are distinguished by their strong, chisel-shaped front teeth. They have a greater number of species, and a wider distribution over the earth than any other terrestrial mammals. To this order belong squirrels, rabbits, rats, mice, and many other species, and the order, as a whole, will be briefly described ina later chapter. At present we must fix our attention upon the beaver, which Buffon said constituted such a link between quadrupeds and fishes, as is the bat between quadrupeds and birds. In fact neither bat nor beaver is a link between different orders, but the beaver is nearly as aquatic in its habits as a fish, and its tail is about as well covered with scales as is the body of a fish.
The beaver is an animal of great geologic age: its fossil remains have been found freely distributed over northern Europe, Asia, and America. At present it has entirely disappeared from many countries where formerly it abounded. In some places in Europe it has abandoned many of its most peculiar and interesting habits of life, and sunk slowly to nearly the condition of its distant relative, the water-rat.
In truth, the beaver, like the king-crab, is a creature evidently doomed to extinction. The cause of the rapid disappearance of the beaver is the value of its fur, which has caused it to be hunted with a reckless disregard of the danger of destroying the entire family. The story of the fate of the goose which laid golden eggs is not wholly a fable, but holds true of many valuable and beautiful plants and animals, which human greed has ruthlessly destroyed. The beaver no doubt had a very happy time building its huts and dams, feeding on roots and bark, and swimming merrily in the rivers, before men were known upon the earth.
The beaver is the largest of the rodents except the capybara or water-hog of South America. The beaver is sometimes three feet long, exclusive of the tail, and a very large beaver will occasionally weigh as much as sixty pounds.The oval, flattened tail is about ten inches long, and is covered with scales. About this tail, as about the habits of the beaver, many foolish stories have been repeated. It has been stated that he uses it as a little cart whereon to drag loads of stone and mud for his dam; also that he uses it as a trowel to smooth in nicest mason-fashion the earth walls of his house. Neither of these tales of a tail is true.
The scaly tail of the beaver is of especial use in helping to support his body when he stands on his hind-legs cutting down trees. One of its uses is that of sounding an alarm when disturbed in his retreats: then the beaver rounds up his back, and brings down his tail on the water with a blow which can be heard for a long distance.
The hind feet of the beaver are webbed up to the toe nails, like those of a duck or gull. In swimming the beaver uses only the hind feet, the front feet, which are small and serve almost exclusively as hands, are kept hanging close by his side while he moves in the water. The head of the beaver is short and rounded, and its upper lip is cleft, probably for convenience in using its powerful incisors in cutting down trees and stripping off bark.
The front teeth of the beaver are very remarkable; they are long and chisel-shaped, with a sharp, cutting edge. The outer layer is made of very hard orange-colored enamel; the inner portion is softer and wears away by the constant use of the teeth; and thus a chisel-like edge is left. As the four front teeth wear down they are reproduced, growing up constantly from the roots. The teeth of the beaver are so sharp and hard that the Indians formerly used them, fastened into handles, for cutting their bone implements.
The eyes of the beaver are small, and the ears are inconspicuous. When swimming or diving the beaver can draw its ears close to its head, closing the orifice against the admission of water. The whole appearance of the animal is without beauty, as the soft, silky brownish fur is hidden by a growth of long coarse reddish-brown hairs.
In America the beavers still live in communities and build homes, but in Europe, where they cannot find secluded and undisturbed ponds and rivers, they have changed their habit and live solitary and in burrows, their huts and dams being now known only in one place in Europe. In America there are found some few beavers living alone in burrows; these are called “idlers,” or “bachelors.” They are supposed to have left the colony because their mates have been killed.
In their natural state beavers live chiefly on the bark of shrubs and trees such as birch, alder, poplar, willow, while a favorite article of food is the root and stem of the yellow water-lily. In captivity they eat bread and raw vegetables, and while they greatly enjoy water for a bath or a swim, they will learn to content themselves without it. It is a pity that any web-footed creature should be held in captivity, where it cannot be provided with an abundance of its natural and favorite element.
In summer the beaver leaves his home, and setting off as if intent upon having a merry time, spends the warm season in roving about the streams and banks, feasting on fresh herbs, and playing with his fellow-citizens of the stream. During August, with provident care he cuts down trees for the repair of his home and dam, but does not begin theirrenovation until the frosts come. This delay probably does not arise from mere idleness, for the beaver is not the tramp of the brute creation, who keeps the roads until forced by the cold to seek shelter. The late repair has its advantages. The last coat of mud applied to the habitation presently freezes hard as a stone, and neither wolves nor wolverines can break up the roof and disturb the repose of the owners of the house.
The beaver is an inhabitant of north temperate climates, where the winters are long and the cold sharp: he is a creature of solitudes where wild carnivorous animals share with him the woodlands and the banks, and to them as to man, he is likely to fall a prey. The hunters and trappers as well as the wolves consider the beaver’s flesh a toothsome morsel, and not only is his fur an article of commerce, but a substance called castoreum found in two small sacs in his body is used to some extent in medicine and perfumery.
Against the wild beasts, the well-built wigwam and the doorways entirely under water, in a measure protect the beaver; but the trappers secure him by traps set in his pathways or near his door. No wonder that the beaver always abandons a locality as soon as it is settled by his chief enemy—man.
And now what of this dwelling which the beaver constructs for himself, provisions, and makes his winter quarters? Wonderful tales have been told of it, as that it is well built of logs and interlaced wattles, plastered securely, and that a proper depth of water over its entrance is secured by the construction of a dam, so large, strong, andwell-built, that a man on horseback can ride over it where it lifts above the water. Unhappily much of this is fiction. Let us sift out the truth.
The natural home of the beaver is not a burrow like that of a water-rat, but a wigwam above ground, built of heaped-up poles, branches, and roots, filled in with short sticks, stones, and sods. The shape is that of a low dome-like brush heap. Inside the irregular dome which is some eight or nine feet in diameter, is a small room which is the living room of the beavers. Several of these huts are placed near together and each has but one compartment; the tales of homes of many rooms have arisen from finding the various separate homes of the colony resting against each other. In each of these huts from four to eight beavers live. In the sides of the room are the beds of leaves, each beaver having a bed of its own. The centre of the apartment where they gnaw the bark from the short sticks which they bring in serves as a dining-room. They are very cleanly, and carry out all rubbish and refuse. The beaver house has no opening above ground. The two doors to the wigwam are in the floor, opening into long underground galleries, one connecting with the piled-up store of food branches, the other leading out toward the bank. Thus there is no approach to the home of the beaver except by passing under the water, and it is to secure a depth of from twenty inches to three feet of water over the entrance passages that the beaver builds a dam.
If the bank or island where the home is built is so placed that a proper current and depth of water over the passages tothe food pile can always be had, the beaver builds no dam. If the water is likely to run low the dam is built. The dam is a loosely constructed barrier, seldom in water over three feet deep, and generally rising but little above the surface. As the parts of trees of which it is built are of kinds which easily take root from rods or wands, as willow, birch, and alder, these sometimes shoot up and spread, growing into a kind of hedge, which, catching débris coming down stream, constantly increases the strength and size of the structure. Slight and low as the beaver dam is, it is marvellous that a brute should construct it, and its size is by no means contemptible. One giant dam, seven feet high and a quarter of a mile long, is mentioned by H. P. Wells, an accurate observer. Especially is it marvellous that in the places where there is little current the dam is carried straight across the stream, while in those where the current is strong the structure has a deep curve down stream, and is thus capable of resisting the force of the water.
In building, the beaver trusts to the water for the conveyance of most of its materials, but it carries roots, stones, sod, and mud, by holding these between its chin and fore-paws. It floats its wood wherever it wishes to have it by swimming behind it. Not only this, but this wonderful builder is shrewd enough to cut down trees with its strong, chisel-like teeth. It selects those near the stream bank, and is sufficiently skilled in woodcraft to make the tree fall toward the stream, by cutting into it most deeply on the water-ward side.
The beaver works almost entirely at night; but whetherunder the direction of some one skilled beaver architect, or whether like the ants and bees,[52]all work guided by a common instinct that produces harmonious labor, is not known.
Quite as wonderful as the dam building is the canal making. This work they undertake in order to facilitate the moving of food and building material. Canals are described by Wells which are three feet wide, over two hundred feet long, and which carry from eighteen inches to two feet of water.
In the huts in winter the mother beaver suckles and rears her young ones. When the family in one cabin becomes too large the young beavers move off and build a home of their own, not too far from the original dwelling, to share the advantages of the same dam. Frequently remains of old beaver dams are found in fields now grassy or under cultivation, but which were formerly ponds or wide curves in the beds of streams. While to the casual glance these may appear to be natural ridges, their regular sweep, equal strength in all parts, and their material prove them to be the work of this ancient family of builders.
FOOTNOTES:[52]See Nature Readers, 1 and 2, Lessons on Bees and Ants.
[52]See Nature Readers, 1 and 2, Lessons on Bees and Ants.
[52]See Nature Readers, 1 and 2, Lessons on Bees and Ants.