90 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



each mother being born the following Ma}'. 

 In these northern seas the skins of this 

 animal, called the Hair Seal, are regarded 

 as being of considerable value on account 

 of the beautiful markings which the}' pre- 

 sent, and are used for coats, caps, gloves, 

 women's underwear, and to cover trunks, 

 boxes and canoes. The flesh is also of 

 value, being considered the most palatable 

 of seal-beef, though this, to the uninitiated, 

 Is saying but little. In capturing fish they 

 are verj' active, destroying large numbers, 

 and not infrequently taking them from the 

 net of the fisherman, even while he is at 

 work. 



In domestication the Harbor Seal becomes 

 very docile, and soon learns to perform 

 many odd tricks, though they are often 

 troubled, while in artificial reservoirs of 

 water, by their eyes becoming sore and 

 inflamed. 



The first description of this animal was 

 made by Linne in 1754, since which time, 

 as a result of its extended geographical 

 range and wide range of variation in color 

 and size, the animal has received over a 

 score of s3nonyms b}' those who have had 

 insufficient material for proper identification. 

 It is more robust than most seals ; has a 

 large head, broad nose, and short limbs. 

 The heav}' dentition is very characteristic, 

 the molars being broad and thick, and set 

 obliquely in the jaw. 



Victoria Regla. 



"While collecting on the Amazon in the 

 vicinity of Santarem, a smalltown situated 

 at the mouth of the Tapajos River, I was 

 fortunate enough to find a group of those 

 immense water-lilies known bj' the name of 

 the Victoria Regia. The}' were growing 

 near the head of a lagoon among the tall 

 grass which, in the wet season, floats and 

 grows on the surface of the water. There 

 were about a hundred leaves, and six or 

 more blossoms. 



The leaves were from four to seven feet 

 in diameter, and the edge of the largest one 

 I measured was nine inches above that por- 

 tion of the leaf which rests on the water. 

 The under side of the leaf is cellular, and 

 resembles honeycombed tripe in everything 

 but its color, and is covered with spines. 

 The stem, which was an inch in diameter, 

 was also covered with spines. 



The bud was six inches from base to 

 apex, and about four inches at the widest. 

 The blossom when fully expanded measured 

 over a foot across. When the bud first 

 opens the flower is pure white. It then 

 commences to turn pink, and the color 

 deepens until the flower wilts, so that when 

 a number of plants grow together one may 

 find all shades of color from pure white to 

 dark pink. 



Each seed-pod contains about half-a-pint 

 of seeds, and if the seeds when fresh are 

 placed over a brisk fire the}- will pop, and 

 can be used for food, tasting much like an 

 inferior qualit}^ of pop-corn. The leaves as 

 they float will sustain for a short time a 

 considerable weight, but owing to their 

 being full of holes, they cannot support 

 more than a few pounds without eventually 

 sinking. 



On one of the leaves I found a nest of 

 the jacana (Parra jacana). It was made 

 of a small heap of grass and rubbish, and 

 contained two strangel}' marked eggs. 



The peculiar formation of the under side 

 of the leaf gives considerable stiffness to it, 

 and the formidable array of spines that 

 cover this surface and the stem, no doubt, 

 serves to preserve them from the attacks of 

 animals. I could not make out whether the 

 holes in the leaves were the work of insects, 

 or of nature. Certain it is that if there 

 were no holes the heav}' rains of the wet 

 season would fill the leaves and sink them. 

 I gathered a large number of the seed-pods, 

 and sent a quart or more of the seeds to a 

 gentleman in Para, who sent them to Eng- 

 land, where, I have since learned, they 

 created considerable interest as the plants 

 raised from them in hot-houses proved to be 

 of a new variet3\ W. H. W. 



I CLIP the following from J. V. R. Swan, 

 acting Consul General's report at St. Peters- 

 burg, Russia. It contains some new facts, 

 that will be of interest to your readers no 

 doubt. 



" In one of the villages in the government 

 of Toula the peasants are interested in the 

 breeding of canaries. Eighty homesteads 

 thus find profitable occupation. The breed- 

 ings are sold in Moscow and the neighbor- 

 hood. In the huts engaged in this under- 

 taking from five to ten breeding-cages are 

 the average. This industry is also partly 



