, he wore a hat lined with red velvet, surmounted with a
plume or tuft of feathers; from which entry, or at least during his
reign, the use of hats and caps is to be dated; and from that time
they took the place of chaperons and hoods, that had been worn before
in France.

Where is Rouen?

In the province of Lower Seine, in France; it was formerly the capital
of Normandy.

Describe the Castor, or Beaver, and its habits.

The Beaver has a broad, flat tail, covered with scales, serving as a
rudder to direct its motion in the water; the toes of its hind feet
are furnished with membranes, after the manner of water-fowl; the fore
feet supply the place of hands, like those of the squirrel. The
Beaver has two kinds of hair, of a light brown color, one long and
coarse, the other short and silky. The teeth resemble those of a rat
or squirrel, but are longer, and admirably adapted for cutting timber
or stripping off the bark from trees.

_Membranes_, thin, flexible, expanded skins, connecting the
toes of water-fowl and amphibious animals, and thus enabling
them to swim with greater ease.

Where do Beavers usually fix their habitations?

Their houses are always situated in the water; they are composed of
clay, which they make into a kind of mortar with their paws: these
huts are of an oval figure, divided into three apartments raised one
above the other, and erected on piles driven into the mud. Each beaver
has his peculiar cell assigned him, the floor of which he strews with
leaves or small branches of the pine tree. The whole building is
generally capable of containing eight or ten inhabitants.

On what does the Beaver feed?

Its food consists of fruit and plants; and in winter, of the wood of
the ash and other trees. The hunters and trappers in America formerly
killed vast numbers for their skins, which were in great demand, as
they were used in making hats, but as the only use they are now put to
is for trimming, and for men's gloves and collars, the demand has
fallen off.

Of what are stockings made?

Of cotton, silk, or wool, woven or knitted. Anciently, the only
stockings in use were made of cloth, or stuff sewed together; but
since the invention of knitting and weaving stockings of silk, &c.,
the use of cloth has been discontinued.

From what country is it supposed that the invention of silk knitted
stockings originally came?

From Spain, in 1589. The art of weaving stockings in