His teeth are very sharp, wherewith he can cut
wood; the foreteeth are red: The forefeet
like Dogs-feet; the hinder skinned like Goos∣feet,
each five-toed. Tailed like a fish. In the
greater, a foot and half broad, and six fingers,
two thick; sometimes weighing four pound;
thin at the edges, a thin skin, and smooth, and
pale, streaked with admirable artifice. In the pri∣vy
parts he hath two swellings as big as a Goose
mouth, on each side one; these are lappets co∣vered
with a thin skin, in the midst a passage,
whence sweats out a fat, clammy-moysture,
wherewith, after wiping his mouth, he annoints
all the parts he can come by; as some Birds
that have in the same place a small bag with a
moysture in it, fetch it thence with their bill,
and annoint their feathers, to keep them moyst,
while they remain in the open aire. In tongue,
heart, stomack, guts, and liver divided into five
laps, or strings, he resembles a Hog most. His
gall lurks under the lesser laps of the liver. His
spleen is but small for a beast of his bignesse.
His reins as great as a yearling-calves, and fat.
The bladder like a Sowes. The testicles small,
and cleaving to his back-bone. The femal
hath but one passage for all natural uses; the
necks of the womb, and bladder meeting there.
Gesner in dissecting a Bever, found in a bag a
yellow matter, solid, waxy, sharp, not earthy,
of a pound weight; and the genital to consist
of one bone, and in each knob another small
bag with a honied-kind of substance in it, smel∣ling
like mouldy rotten cheese. The like is
in the femals, but weighing hardly an ounce.
Wherein Bellonius found stones as big as an
egge, but without doubt it was counterfait.
Bevers are found in Burgundy, about the River
Matrona; and by the Sein in Cabillon, and in
Lorain. Austria, about the Danow, where
they are called Biferi; in Helvetia, about Aru∣la,
Rusa, and the River Lomagus; in Poland
also, Russia, Prussia, and Italia; especially
where the Po disburthens himself into the Sea;
Finally, the best are about the Rivers of Pon∣tus,
and in Spain. They haunt rather the
Northern-waters, then the Rhine, or Danube,
or other Rivers troubled with Navigation. But
where ever he lives, he lives partly in the water,
and partly on the land. Therefore they make
their holes by River-sides.
They feed on tree-leaves, as the Poplar, &c.
but they covet most the broad-leaved Willows,
because bitter. Not on fish, as Albert mistakes;
for Pelicerius, Bishop of Montpellier, laid often
afore them fish alive, and dead, but they would
not so much as smell to them.
In the beginning of Summer, under the
constellation of the Dolphin with Sagittarius
declining, they couple. They bring forth at the
fall of the leaf. The voice of the Beaver is like
the crying of a child. They never leave their
hold in biting, till they hear the bones crack;
when you keep them tame, they are so modest,
that they never foul the house with their or∣dure,
and they cry, and whine, if they cannot
get abroad. They love their young so, that they
will break through doors, and grates, and cast
themselves down headlong for their sakes, as
the forenamed Bishop relates. They feed
themselves with their forefeet, as with hands.
They wet their hinder-parts often, because
the barks of trees bind their bodies, or for that
but little gaul flows to their guttes. That opi∣nion
of his biting off his testicles, when hunted,
is false, rising from his craft in hiding them. He
is observed to be very cunning. As appears by
the wise building, and preparing of their
house, in carrying of the materialls on the old
ones lying on their backs, and packing the
wood handsomely between their thighs, and
dragging them by the tail to the appointed
place, which makes the old ones backs so sleek.
Those that the Scythians call Drudges, gather
apples, cut barke, others lay them on the backs
of two yoaked, having framed a hurdle of
sticks to that end. The same by the black ones,
which are called Masters, direct by their gate,
and posture the rest; being to cut wood, they
ever hold the same track from the river to the
tree; never leaving a tree, till they have gnaw∣ed
it almost asunder; and when it is near falling,
they take care that it may not fall on that side
where they stand. In a word, they build their
houses higher, or lower, as the river runs, and
shift lodging the day afore it overflows.
The flesh is not unsavoury, if in dressing
the venome be removed. The foreparts are
hot, the hinder so cold, that, like Tortoyses,
they eat them onely on fasting-dayes. The
Loranois count the tayl a delicate, it co••••ming
near the tast of a Lamprey. Some sprinkle it
with Ginger, and roast it. Gesner saith it
tasts like eel. In Phis••ck the Bevers-gall, pisse,
tayl and skin is usefull. Bever compast with
many naturall skins, with a waxy moysture
within it, of a tart tast, and a strong sent, is said
to be the choysest; which is to be plucked from
the beast in his ripe vigorous age, and to be
dried with the Hony liquor in it; it will hold
the vertue seven years, it helps the falling∣sicknes,
and lethargie, if boyled with rue in
keen vineger, and the swimming in the head,
if the crown be annointed with it, and vine∣seed,
and oyl of roses; and it helps losse of me∣mory
after chronicall tedious diseases, and
against short-breath with Ammoniack, and
honied vineger; also against hickok after much
eating. Easens collick, in juice of vine, and
boyled in vineger, applied as a cataplasme on
the breast, and secrets, is good against running
of the reins. A perfume of it, furthers con∣ception.
Eases womens griefs, rising from
cold causes. Purges a woman in child-bed.
Opium corrects it best. Finally it is an ingre∣dient
into many medicines, as waters, extracts,
oyls, ointments, waxes. The curd helps the
falling-sicknesse. The pisse poyson; the tayl
wounds in the guts. The ashes of the skin
burnt with soft pitch, and leek juice stanches
blood. It is a good wearing for the palsied.
The teeth are worn for Amulets. The fat is a
good bait to catch fish. The softest hair makes