SEALS. 425 
accompanied by their young. The little ones are not so cunning 
as their parents, and are easily surprised; the old ones being 
reluctant to abandon their young, are thus decoyed within the 
hunter's reach. There are two ways of hunting seals, either on 
water or on land. In order to shoot them on land, the hunter 
must seize the moment when the animals happen to be at a short 
distance from the shore, which he is seldom able to do. The 
hunters pull down the stream in boats, and fire on any seal they 
may surprise on the shore. Guns of great precision and of long 
range are used, for the animal, frightened at the sight of the 
boats advancing towards him, runs off very quickly, and it is 
necessary sometimes to fire at a distance of 200 or 300 yards. At 
other times the hunter silently steps on shore, leaving a sailor in 
charge of the boat. He creeps along the beach, crawling like a 
savage who wishes to take his enemy by surprise; and often goes 
in this way for a mile or more, pushing his rifle in front of him. 
He stops at intervals to give the animal he is aiming at time to 
recover itself if it has been disturbed, and, in fact, takes every 
precaution to conceal himself, till he finds that he is within range. 
M. de Rylé has graphically described the cunning and patience 
necessary for a successful expedition. The pursuit of the seal 
in water is more simple, but not so certain. The seal is fired 
at the moment he shows his head above the surface. But it 
must be remembered that the animal only raises his head for 
one minute, and immediately dives again; and even where the 
huntsman is skilful enough to make sure of hitting him, there 
is still risk of losing the prize; for if the seal be only wounded, 
he makes for the open sea; and if he is killed outright, he sinks 
to the bottom of the water, and is not easily recovered. 
Seals are. classed in two different groups:—The Oé¢ary has 
an external ear, an aperture of a peculiar form. This species 
may be met with in the Pacific Ocean. Seals, properly so called, 
have no external ear, and have a pointed incision or aperture. 
Greenland is frequented by many different kinds of the common 
species of seal—the Hooded Seal (Phoca cristata); the Muller or 
Greenland Seal (Phoca Grenlandica); the Schreber or Ursine 
Seal (Phoca hispida). These northern seals are hunted in the open 
