irntifi, �turti,an. THE LIFE AND HABITS OF THE BEAVER. Costs of Manufacturing. Our engraving shows a rare animal, or rather one The movement which is being made in Congress to that has become rare. While it was formerly wide-reduce the tariff on cotton and woolen goods is of great spread and numerous in the temperate and even the interest to the people who have their money invested colder parts of Europe and Asia, and also of America, in those industries. They have made great efforts to it has

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... isappeared quickly wherever it came in contact have their rights protected to such an extent that they with human beings, and although so familiar an object I can lllanufactnre goods for hOllle consumption and suc years ago, there are now comparatively few people ces�fully compete with the foreign manufacturer who in Europe, especially in Germany, who have had an is so eager to obtain admittance to our markets. It is onportunity of seeing a beaver in its natural state. probably an established fact that, whatever tariff bill The land was too highly cultivated, for the rodent re-is passed by Congress, the duties on cotton and woolen quires lonely, uncultivatell regions for his home, and goods that are imported will be lower than under the he was hunted becaulle he made havoc among the McKinley bill. ·With these facts staring us in the face, young trees and for the sake of his fur, his meat, which there seems to be but one course for American manu many like, and for the perfume secreted by certain facturers to pursue, and that is to reduce the cost of glands of his body, so that beavers, like many other manufacturing their goods. Can this be done to any animals, have been decimated. extent, or to such an extent that, should the tariff bill The beaver is one of the most important rodents. now under discussion become a law, our mills can be As the body of a full grown male is about 2 feet 7 operated at a profit? This is a serious question and inches long and weighs about 60 pounds, there are few one deserving much thought. rodents that surpass him in size; in Europe he has no A close observation in several of our leading mills, equal among the rodents. The broad head, somewhat both cotton and woolen, within the last three weeks, narrowed toward the front, on a short, thick neck, and shows us that few, if any, of them have reached the the stout body, which is wider at the rear, give the point where a reduction in the cost of their goods can animal a clumsy look. The webbed hind feet indicate not be made. If this is a fact, the question then comes, its amphibious nature, and his tail is of such a pecu-How can this be done? Let us refer to a few ways in liar shape that any child could recognize him by it; it which, in our opinion, quite a reduction in the cost of is flattened, so that when one looks down upon it, it labor in our mills can be made; first, there are many seems to be egg-shaped, and it is covered with little I mills which al e using very poor machinery-machinery angular scales. The color of the tail is dark gray, that has been in use from twenty to thirty-five while the thick fnr on the animal's back is chestnut years. It is of light build, can only be operated brown and that uncler the body is lighter. The beaver's chief tools are his very large chisel-shaped teeth, which are very long and prominent. His nose and ears are well adapted for his aquatic life, for the little short ears that are nearly hidden in the fur can be laid so flat on his head as to effectively exclude all water, and in a similar manner the nostrils are closed by thick flaps. For years past busy fancy has added many fables and fairy stories to the accounts of the beaver's life and habits, but these are sufficiently interest IlIg without such additions, especially where he can enjoy undisturbed security. vVe must go to lonely parts of Asia or North America, particularly to Canada the latter has the beaver in its coat of arms-to find large colonies or societies of beavers, for they settle on rivers and ",t,rP.J'llTI" that r\ln throll2'h fore..,t.., in which the sound of the ax has never been heard, building in their character istic fashion. Their dome-shaped houses or "lodges," which are sometimes nine feet high, sen-e as temporary dwellings to be used in case the underground dwellings are flooded. The latter are entered by long tunnels that open in deep water. The neigh boring wood furnishes the materials for the "lodges;" even thick trees fall vieti1Jls of the sharp teeth of the beaver, and are skillfully cut up. The branches and twigs, the bark of which forms his food, are all used for building, being placed one upon the other without regularity; but the beaver, a natural marine architect, saves the thicker stems there were colonies of bea vers on certain parts of the Elbe and on the Danube, but in the course of time he has become a stranger in his own land.-lllustrirte Zeitung. are weak in our mills can be strengthened at a slow speed. and is of the kind that r!'q uires more ' at little or no cost. A close observation also shows that hands to look after it, even to obtain a small product, ! lllany of our mills have more overseers than is really than the improved llJachinery of the present tillle ! needed. A doubling up can be done at profit in many would require to obtain an increase of 25 or 30 per cent, I cases by paying the second hands a little more, and occupying the sallle floor space in the mill, and not securing better ones. The points we have mentioned taking much, if any, more power to operate it. In are only written after having carefully studied this fact, many of our mills are full of machinery that should matter through personal observation, both in this long ago have been consigned to the scrap heap and country and in England, and our manufacturers will new put in its place. . find we are right in every assertion, if they will take