80 Dr. Harwood on the Hahits of the Seal. 



caverns : fire-arms, in these cases, are never had recourse to, 

 as a comparatively slight blow b)^ a stick on the head, or nose, 

 is sufficient to destroy life : this arises either from the thin and 

 fragile nature of the bones of the skull of the seal, or the great 

 and immediate nervous communication which exists between 

 its nose and its brain . Among more uncivilised nations, its 

 mode of destruction is far more tedious and less efficient. 

 Thus, for instance, the Esquimaux, after long watching, first 

 strikes a seal with his barbed spear, to which a line is attached, 

 having at its extremity a large floating buoy, composed of the 

 inflated skin of another seal ; thus entangled and opposed in 

 all its efforts to retreat far beneath, as often as it rises to 

 breathe, it receives a fresh wound from the unerring spear of 

 its destroyer. 



We now proceed to say a few words on the uses to which 

 this animal is applied, when deprived of life, by the more civi- 

 lised nations of mankind. As to the benefits which the inhabit- 

 ants of frigid regions derive from it, they are far too numerous 

 and diversified to be particularized, as they supply them with 

 almost all the conveniences of life. We, on the contrary, so 

 persecute this animal, as to destroy hundreds of thousands 

 annually, for the sake of the pure and transparent oil with 

 which it abounds ; 2dly, for its tanned skin, which is appro- 

 priated to various purposes by different modes of preparation ; 

 and, 3rdly, we pursue it for its close and dense attire. In the 

 common seal, the hair of the adult is of one uniform kind, 

 so thickly arranged and imbued with oil, as to effectually 

 resist the action of the water ; while, on the contrary, in the 

 antarctic seals the hair is of two kinds : the longest, like 

 that of the northern seals ; the other, a delicate, soft fur, 

 growing between the roots of the former, close to the sur- 

 face of the skin, and not seen externally ; and this beautiful 

 fur constitutes an article of very increasing importance in 

 commerce ; — but not only does the clothing of the seal vary ma- 

 terially in colour, fineness, and commercial estimation, in the 

 different species, but not less so in reference to the age of the ani- 

 mal. The young of most kinds are usually of a very light colour, 

 or entirely white, and are altogether destitute of true hair, having 

 this substituted by a long and particularly soft fun 



