ZOOLOGY.— ^SEA-HORSE. 503 



teiied in front. The flattened part of the fkce is 

 set with strong bristles. The' nostrils are on the 

 upper part of the snout, .through which it blows or 

 breathes like a whale. The fore paws, which are a 

 kind of webbed hand, are two-sevenths of the full 

 length of tlie animal from the snout. They are 

 from 2 to 2k feet in length ; and being expansive, 

 may be stretched to the breadth of 15 to 18 inches. 

 The hind feet, which form a sort of tail fin, extend 

 straight backward. They are not united, as many 

 zoologists affirm, but are detached from each other. 

 The length of eacli is about 2 to 2^ feet ; the 

 breadth, when fully extended, 2h or 3 feet ; the ter- 

 mination of each toe is marked by a small nail. 



The skin of the walrus is about an inch thick, 

 and is covered with a short, yellowish-brown colour- 

 ed hair. The inside of the paws, in old animals, 

 is defended by a rough horny kind of casing, a 

 quarter of an inch thick, probably produced by the 

 hardening of the skin, in consequence of coarse 

 usage in climbing over ice and rocks. 



Beneath the skin, is a thin layer of fat. At some 

 seasons, the produce is said to be considerable ; but 

 I have never met with any that afforded above 20 

 or 30 gallons of oil. Excepting the head, the gene- 

 ral form of the walrus is similar to that of the 

 Seal. In the stomachs of walruses, I have met 

 with shrimps, a kind of craw-fish, and the remains 

 of young seals. 



