98 ARCTIC ZOOLOGY. 



system of Liniiieus, according to the last edition of his 

 celebrated work by Gmelin. 



Trichechus Rosmarus (the morse). — This clumsy and 

 ferocious animal is rarely met with on the western shores 

 of Greenland : his favourite haunts are on the side of 

 Hudson's Bay, and the Island of Resolution. In the latter 

 place they are seen in great numbers ; but being grega- 

 rious, and accustomed to come to each other's assistance 

 when attacked, they are seldom hunted. Its tusks are 

 considered very valuable, being of firmer consistence, ana 

 a better and more permanent white than ivory. The oil of 

 the morse is much esteemed for its purity. The hide is 

 convertible to many useful purposes, particularly on board 

 the whale ships, where it is employed to prevent the masts 

 &c. from chafing. The usual food of the morse is sea- 

 weeds, corallines, and shell-fish. It is not carnivorous. 



Fhoca (the seal). — A great many species of this animal 

 are met with along the western coast of Greenland. The 

 most remarkable for numbers and frequency are the P 

 vitulina, or sea-calf; P. Grsenlandica, or harp-seal; P. 

 hispida, or rough-seal ; P. cristata, or crested seal ; and 

 P. barbata, or great-seal. Of these the first is most nu- 

 merous, and is the chief wealth of the Greenlander. 

 Every part of the animal is converted to some useful 

 purpose. The skin serves for clothes, and is applied to 



