320 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



peratures, fresh seal oil deposits stearin. This is re- 

 moved by filtration, and the product is known as 

 racked seal oil. 



Seal oils resemble cod-liver oil in composition and 

 properties, and for this reason are often used as 

 adulterants of medicinal cod-liver oil. Chemically it 

 is difficult to distinguish between seal oil and the liver 

 oils. Cod-liver oil, however, contains a much larger 

 quantity of fat-soluble vitamines and is therefore 

 much more valuable for medicinal purposes. Seal oils 

 are used in the tanning of hides and pelts, in the 

 currying of leather, in the manufacture of degras 

 and sod oil, in soap making, and sometimes as burn- 

 ing oils for the lights of lighthouses. 



Walruses 



The walrus and the polar bear are the animal 

 monarchs of the Arctic. Polar bears are often able to 

 kill young walruses, but when a bear attacks a full- 

 grown walrus he is sure to get the worst of it. An 

 adult walrus weighs a ton or more and is about fifteen 

 feet in length. While a walrus is stupidly slow on ice, 

 in the water he is perfectly at home and is able to 

 defend himself against all comers with his two power- 

 ful tusks projecting downward from the upper jaw, 

 which are admirably adapted to slashing and goring. 



For downright daring, few sports compare with 

 walrus hunting as practised by the Eskimos of North 

 Greenland. They hunt in a kayak, a native one-man 

 canoe made of seal skins stretched over a light 

 wooden frame. The little boat, which is about 

 eighteen feet in length, is decked over all, excepting 



