in Zoology. See CASTOR, MAMMALIA Index.

BEAVER Skins, in commerce. Of these, merchants distinguish three sorts; the new, the dry, and the fat.

The new beaver, which is also called the white beaver, or Muscovy beaver, because it is commonly kept to be sent into Muscovy, is that which the savages catch in their winter hunting. It is the best, and the most proper for making fine furs, because it has lost none of its hair by shedding.

The dry beaver, which is sometimes called lean beaver, comes from the summer hunting, which is the time when these animals lose part of their hair. Though this sort of beaver be much inferior to the former, yet it may also be employed in furs; but it is chiefly used in the manufacture of hats. The French call it summer caflor, or beaver.

The fat beaver is that which has contracted a certain gross and oily humour, from the sweat which exhales from the bodies of the savages, who wear it for some time. Though this sort be better than the dry beaver, yet it is used only in the making of hats.

Besides hats and furs, in which the beaver's hair is commonly used, they attempted in France, in the year 1699, to make other manufactures of it: and accordingly they made cloths, flannels, stockings, &c. partly of beavers hair, and partly of Segovia wool. This manufactory, which was set up at Paris, in the suburb of St Anthony, succeeded at first pretty well; and according to the genius of the French, the novelty of the thing brought into some repute the stuffs, stockings, gloves, and cloth, made of beavers hair. But they went out of fashion on a sudden, because it was found, by experience, that they were of a very bad wear, and besides that the colours faded very much; when they had been wet, they became dry and hard, like felt, which occasioned the miscarriage of the manufactory for that time.

When the hair has been cut off from the beavers skins, to be used in the manufacturing of hats, those skins are still employed by several workmen; namely, by the trunk-makers, to cover trunks and boxes; by the shoemakers, to put into flippers; and by turners, to make sieves for sifting grain and seeds.