HABITS. 307 



slipped into a pillar-box. It is therefore easy to administer 

 physic whenever medical treatment may be thought desirable ; 

 and the necessity for it has occasionally occurred. Soon after 

 her arrival the female exhibited symptoms of distemper, a dis- 

 ease to which these animals, like dogs, are liable "* 



In captivity these animals appear to become strongly attached 

 to each other, so much so that in case one of a pair dieSj the 

 other is very apt to die soon after, of grief. They have also 

 been known to propagate in confinement, an instance of which is 

 related by Mr. F. J. Thompson in his interesting paper recently 

 published in "Forest and Stream," on "The Habits and Breed- 

 ing of the Sea Lions in Captivity," t based on observations 

 made at the Zoological Garden in Cincinnati, Ohio. As his 

 paper contains, besides a general account of the habits of these 

 interesting animals, several novel points, I give it place in 

 full: 



"In the early part of June, 1877, I went, sent by the Zoolog- 

 ical Society of Cincinnati, to Chicago to receive some black 

 sea-lions (Zaloplnis yillespiei) which had arrived there from the 

 southern coast of California. On my arrival I found that the 

 female had calved on the previous night, therefore thought it 

 best to lie over for a day in order that the young might acquire 

 a little extra strength to bear the fatigue of the rail way journey 

 to Cincinnati. They all arrived in the garden in fine condition, 

 but had to be kept in their shipping crates for the first few days, 

 until an old beaver pond could be arranged as temporary quar- 

 ters for them, while the large basin intended for their perma- 

 nent home could be built. During this time, on account of 

 a heavy freshet in the Ohio Eiver, the water in the pond became 

 quite muddy, which affected them so much that they were un- 

 able to retain their food, invariably vomiting up their fish some 

 one or two hours after feeding. By giving small doses of Ro- 

 chelle salts fora few days, all recovered, but the calf died from 

 a violent attack of cholera infantum, caused no doubt by its 

 mother's milk being affected by the muddy water. 



"A short time before the calf was taken sick my attention 

 was attracted to the peculiar appearance of the mother on 

 emerging from the water after taking her customary bath. 

 She was completely covered with a whitish oleaginous sub- 

 stance, about the consistency of semi-fluid lard, which seemed 



* Land and Water, Feb. 5, 1876, p. 104. 



t Forest and Stream (newspaper), vol. xii, p. 66, Feb. 23, 1879. 



