body at certain seasons of the year. The beaver's fore
legs are very small and short, and it uses its paws as
hands to convey food to its mouth, sitting the while in
an erect position on its hind legs and tail. Its fur is
a dense coat of a grayish-coloured down, concealed by
long coarse hair, which lies smooth, and is of a bright
chestnut colour. Its teeth and jaws are of enormous
power; with them it can cut through the branch of a
tree as thick as a walking-stick at one snap, and, as we
have said, it gnaws through thick trees themselves.