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Updated: July 27, 2025
Another curious circumstance connected with this "castoreum" is, that as soon as one beaver has deposited any of it on the ground, the beavers from another lodge go to the spot, and after covering it with earth and leaves, deposit their own "castoreum" on it.
Formerly, the bait they employed was a piece of green aspen, beaten up, and placed near the trap. At length an Indian tried whether a male might not be caught by adding some of the castoreum. By that time steel traps had been introduced, instead of the clumsy wooden traps before used.
Then one of the maids said she heard him asking the mistress if she had any oil of bergamot, and if there was any castoreum left in the house. They did not get much information from him that night, and, strange to say, he was the first one after dinner that proposed bed.
The reason why so very little true Castoreum is found among us is because it is adulterated by the Persians before it comes to our hands . The way to prove true castoreum is by smelling, and if genuine and unadulterated it makes the nose bleed, as I saw proved on four persons in succession. When genuine and unadulterated, castoreum will preserve its flavour for ten years.
The bark-stone of which the old trapper spoke is the Castoreum, a substance secreted in two glandular sacs near the root of the beaver's tail, which gives out an extremely powerful odour, and so strangely attracts beavers that the animals, when they scent it at a distance, will sniff about and squeal with eagerness as they make their way towards it.
Here are found all sorts of precious stones, especially that called Eranon, which defends men against witchcraft, madness, and fearfulness proceeding from melancholy. It is the stone commonly called Turquoise, which is brought in great abundance from a city named Balascam, where also great plenty of Castoreum is procured and various kinds of colours.
"A trap was fastened by its steel chain to a stake, to prevent the beaver, when caught, taking it away. It slipped, however, and the beaver swam away with the trap, and it was looked upon as lost. Two nights afterwards he was again taken in a trap, with the other fast on his thigh. Another time a beaver, passing over a trap to get the castoreum, had his hind-leg broken.
Among fish, the whale is the emblem of the tomb, just as Jonas, who came out of it after three days, is typical of Jesus risen from the dead. Among rodents the beaver is the image of Christian prudence, because, says the legend, when he is pursued by hunters he tears with his teeth the pouch containing castoreum and flings it at the foe.
Castoreum is a commercial drug, and in many beaver countries it is quite an article of trade. There are other sacs lying directly behind the castor glands which contain a strong oil of rancid smell. This should not be confounded with the Castoreum.
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