the Canadian Beaver_, 1892; in an appendix to this work will
be found Samuel Hearne's classical account of the Beaver,
written nearly two hundred years ago, and free from the many
exaggerations and superstitions which have grown up around
this animal.

We have thus seen, from a shapeless hole to these complex dwellings,
every possible stage; we have found among animals the rudiments of the
different human habitations, certain animals, indeed, having arrived
at a degree of civilisation which Man himself in some countries has
not yet surpassed, or even indeed yet attained.

CHAPTER VII.

THE DEFENCE AND SANITATION OF DWELLINGS.

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AGAINST POSSIBLE DANGER--SEPARATION OF
FEMALES WHILE BROODING--HYGIENIC MEASURES OF BEES--PRUDENCE OF
BEES--FORTIFICATIONS OF BEES--PRECAUTIONS AGAINST
INQUISITIVENESS--LIGHTING UP THE NESTS.

The building of comfortable dwellings is not the last stage reached by
the industry of animals. There are among them some who show genuine
skill in rendering them healthy and defending them against invasions
from without.

_General precautions against possible danger._--Some animals show,
even during the construction of the nest, extreme prudence in
preventing its site from being discovered. Several authors refer to
the stratagem of the Magpie, who begins several nests at the same
time; but only one is intended to receive the brood, and that only is
completed. The aim of the others is merely to distract attention. It
is around these latter that the bird shows ostentatious activity,
while it works at the real nest only for a few hours during the day,
in the morning and evening.

The Crane takes equally ingenious precautions in order that its
constant presence at the same spot may not arouse suspicion. It never
comes or goes flying, but always on foot, concealing itself along
tufts of reeds. De Homeyer even reports that the female at the time of
laying covers her wings and back with mud. When dried this gives the
animal a red tone, which causes it to be confused with neighbouring
objects; this is intentional mimicry.

The Linnet (Fig. 41) again, wrongly accused of wanting judgment, is
well aware that a pile of excrement at the foot of a tree announces a
nest in the branches. It is careful to suppress this revealing sign,
and every day takes it away in its beak to disperse it afar.

[Illustration: FIG. 41.]

Birds w