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 their renovation 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, and well-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.