PHOCA VITULINA. jqc; 



but it was not ascertained whether the poor (fat) wanderer had lost 

 his wa}', or ha\'ing taken a uii/j at society, was seekino- voluntary 

 retirement from the world — of seals." '"^ 



" Another Seal was killed upon the ice between Burlington and 

 Port Kent, on the 23d of February, 1846. Mr. Tabor, of Keeseville, 

 and Messrs. Morse and Field, of Peru, were crossing over in sleighs, 

 when they discovered it crawling upon the ice, and, attacking it with 

 the butt-end of their whiijs, they succeeded in killing;' it and broucrht 

 it on shore at Purlington, where it was purcliased by Morton Cole, 

 Esq., and presented to the Uni\-ersit\' of Vermont, where its skin 

 and skeleton are now preserved." f This is followed by a detailed de- 

 scription of this specimen, which was a female, and by the remark 

 that ".At the time the aliove-mentioned .Seal was taken, the lake, with 

 the exception of a few cracks, was entirely covered with ice." 



During a recent visit to Lake Champlain I was told that a Seal had 

 been killed on the ice, near Crown Point, within four or five years, 

 but was unable to authenticate the statement. 



Dr. DeKay mentioned the occasional occurrence of this species on 

 Lake Ontario, man)- years ago; anil during the [)ast winter one was 

 killed on Onondaga Lake that must ha\'e reachetl this remote inland 

 water by way of Lake ( )ntario. 



I have seen man\- of these .Seals in Long Island Sound, chiefly 

 about the Thiml)le Islands; and March 25, 1879, I ^^\\' o''"^ on a rock 

 in the Hudson River, near Sing Sing. 



We learn, from Mr. J. A. Allen's e.xcellent "History of the North 

 American Pinnijjeds," that the period ot gestation, in this restless 

 nomad, is about nine months, and that commonly but a single young 

 is born at a time, though the)- sometimes have twins. 



They breed very late, generally in Juiie and [uly, and their young 

 are deposited upon the shore instead of upon the ice, as is customary 

 with many species. 



* Natiirnl nml Civil History of Vermont, 1S42, ]i. 38. 

 t Loc. cit., ApiieiLiix, 1S53, \>. 13. 



