Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-04-02
BEAVER GROWING
MORE PLENTIFUL
IN ACKNOWLEDGES
A Few Years Ago This Industri.
Gus and Clever Little Ami.
NAL Was near EX-
.inctiOn There.

Rome, n. V, March 30-woodsmen
and winter tourists in the Adirondaclsa
report that the beaver colony liberated
by the State In 1908 has greatly increased
and that now there are several large
colonies and many small ones A few
years ago they We're almost extinct in
the Adirondacks owing to the trappcrs.
Now they have become so plentiful that
there are complaints of damage done to
large trees through them.
The State board of claims will hear
arguments in Rochester in May in a
damage suit brought by w. g. Barrett
and w. A. Guinand owners of property
on the west side of Fourth lake, adj
joining State land. They claim ZOO for
the loss of go poplar and birch trees
gnawed down by the beaver.
Beavers are numerous in the Fulton
chain region, along the tributaries Of
Cedar river, indian river. around the lit
tie streams that run into Long lake
and the otr lakes in that region. and
even up in the Cranberry lake district.
The beaver is a ponderously construct
ed animal and gets over the ground
slowly. but in the water it is all speed
and grace. The grown male is about 3s
to , inches long and weighs about a
pound to the inch. Sometimes they run
as heavy as 70 to 30 pounds. The females
are but slightly smaller,
TWENTY STRONG TEETH
The tail and teeth are two Important
assets OF the beaver The tails average
ten inches in length, about four inches
in width and one inch in thickness. Back
of the shoulders the average circum-
ference is twenty inches and around the
abdomen twenty-seven to thirty inches.
They are equipped with twenty power
full teeth-eight molars and two incisors
IN e .ch jaw. The four front teeth are
large, orange coored. strong, and have
<elf-sharpening edge OF enamel The
ears are short and rounded and the sense
of smell is highly developed Their
sense of hearing comes next in impor-
tance Their eyes are weak. The hind
feet are large and webbod. The fore
paws are handlike and have strong claws.
They are a reddish brown, shading into
a very dark brown.
The four orange-colored teeth are OPP
Grated by powerful jaw muscles that
enble them to easily cut wood Their
They can drag logs twice their weight
over a rough trail or tow iD-pound
sapling up a strong current without APP
parent effort
FELL BIG TREES
They feed on the inner bark of decidu-
Gus trees, and aspen is their favorite
| food, although they can subsist on any
+ trees found growing near water. They
also feed on berries, grass and leaves
and stalks of many varieties OF plants
To get food they frequently fell trees Il
to 10 inches in diameter. cut the logs
! and branches into chunks and roll them
to a stream and sink them In the water
near their houses weighing the wood
down with mud and stones
The beaver must have water on a level
with its house. To got that level II Is
frequently necessary to dam a stream.
When a new colony selects n site for its
home it throws dam across the stream
to raise the flow TO the required height
four TO six feet. The dam Is Of brush
stones, logs and mud. The house tops
project a foot or two out OF the water,
with an entrance at the bottom. Inside
, the houses is usually a ledge or shelf
just above the water line. on which the
young arc brought forth. from four to
six at a time. They mate for life. and II
one OF the pair is killed the other fire.
quently goes minated to the end.
Sometimes they have to go as much as
100 TO 800 feet from water for trees. These
they fell by gnaWing in n circle at the
butt until they fall. and usually the
gnawing is done so that the ton falls
toward the water. Then the tree Is cut
in short pieces and rolled or carried to
the waters edge. Most OF the work Is
done by night