176 



SEA BEAR SEAL. 



gfruetion and induration of internal organs. The 

 great proportion of salt and of animal substance in 

 the sea-water, the constant motion and swell of the 

 waves, the sea air, and the very sight of the sea, 

 together with the excitement caused, at least in 

 the case of timid person-, from overcoming a degree 

 of fear, contribute to the effect of sea-bathing. 

 Machines are sometimes used for conveying patients 

 into the water. In these, being protected from 

 observation, the batjier can enjoy the sea perfectly 

 undressed, which is much preferable to going into 

 tin- water with a dress on. 



SEA BEAR. See Seal. 



SEA ELEPHANT. See Seal. 



SEA HORSE. This term is often applied to 

 the walrus, but more frequently to a small, insig- 

 nificant, bony fish (hippocampus), the head of which 

 bears some remote resemblance to that of the horse. 

 The usual length of this fish is five or six inches; 

 the body is compressed laterally, and is encased in 

 prominent, bony, rib-Like scales. The tail is much 

 smaller than the body, destitute of a terminal fin, 

 tapering gradually to a point, and curls up when 

 dried; in which state it is common in museums. 

 The mouth is small, and situated at the extremity 

 of a long, tubular snout, as in the other pipe-fish. 

 The species of hippocampus are found in almost 

 every sea, and live on small marine insects. As 

 some similarity has been imagined between the 

 head of this fish and that of the horse, the dorsal 

 fin has likewise been compared to a saddle, and the 

 filaments on the back of the neck to a mane. 



SEA-KAIL (crambe maritirna); a cruciferous 

 plant, growing wild in Europe, upon sandy sea- 

 shores. The whole plant is entirely smooth and 

 glaucous; the stems are about two feet high and 

 branching, bearing fleshy leaves, some pinnatifid, 

 and others sinuate, undulate, and crisped; the 

 flowers are disposed in a terminal panicle. From 

 time immemorial, the common people have been in 

 the practice of watching when the young shoots 

 and leaf-stalks begin to push through the sand, and 

 cutting them off below the surface of the ground 

 for boiling as greens. About eight years ago, it 

 was first introduced into the gardens as a culinary 

 vegetable; and now it is very common, as such, in 

 many parts of Europe. It is planted in a deep, 

 sandy soil, and is blanched either by sand, ashes, 

 litter, or by covering with flower pots, or any other 

 opaque cover. It is forced either by taking up the 

 roots, and planting them in a hot-bed, or in the 

 border of a forcing house, or by surrounding them 

 with litter in the open garden. Each plant should 

 have a cover to keep off the dung from the young 

 shoots, as well as to ensure their being blanched. 

 No plant is so easily forced; and, unlike asparagus, it 

 yields produce the first spring after raising from seed. 



SEA LION. See Seal. 



SEA SERPENT. The existence of an enor- 

 mous marine animal of the serpent shape, and 

 thence called sea serpent, or sea snake, is mentioned 

 by Pontoppidan (q. v.), in his Natural History of 

 Norway, and has since been noticed by some 

 voyagers. The former represents it to be about 

 600 feet in length, with apparently about twenty- 

 five folds on its back. Within the last twenty 

 years, a great number of persons, among them many 

 mariners, have asserted, in the most undoubting 

 manner, that they have seen a similar creature on 

 the coasts of the United States of America, chiefly 

 on those of New England. By different witnesses, 

 the size of the animal has been differently esti- 



mated at from one hundred to forty-five feet in 

 length; but all accounts agree in regard to the 

 protuberances on its back, its vertical sinuosities, 

 and its serpent-shaped head. A more particular 

 account of the appearance and habits of 1 his animal, 

 as far as they have been observed, may be found in 

 Silliman's Journal of Science for April, 1820. 



SEA-SICKNESS (nausea marina); the nausea 

 (from vauf, a ship), retchings and vomitings expe- 

 rienced at sea by those unaccustomed to a sea life. 

 The principal cause of the sickness is, doubtle>s, 

 the motion of the vessel, and similar effects are 

 sometimes produced by riding in a carriage ; but it 

 is often aggravated by the smells and effluvia of 

 the vessel. Noxious gasses are evolved by the 

 bilge-water; and chloride of lime or ammonia have 

 been recommended for counteracting their effects 

 and disinfecting the ship. 



SEAL. Linnanis united the seals under the 

 genus phoca; but later naturalists have recognised 

 in them a group of marine quadrupeds, composed 

 of several natural genera, which differ exceedingly 

 in their dentition, as well as in external characters. 

 The form of the body bears a general resemblance 

 to that of a fish, and the short limbs are chiefly 

 enveloped in the common integument, the part ap- 

 pearing externally serving the purpose of a fin or 

 paddle; these flippers have five toes provided with 

 nails, and united by a membrane. The tail is very 

 short and rudimentary. The eye is large, the nos- 

 trils open or close at the will of the animal, and 

 the external ear, when it exists, is very small. 

 The upper lip is provided with strong whiskers. 

 The interior structure of the seals is precisely 

 similar to that of land quadrupeds; and atmos- 

 pheric respiration is indispensable to their existence, 

 although they are capable of remaining a long time 

 under water. The seals live in herds more or less 

 numerous, along the shores of the sea, and are fond 

 of sunning themselves upon the sea-beaches, rocks, 

 or ice-banks. Upon uninhabited coasts, they bring 

 forth and suckle their young, and exhibit the most 

 tender solicitude for their welfare. They are easily 

 tamed, become strongly attached to their keepers, 

 recognise them at a distance, and seem to be 

 endowed with an unusual portion of intelligence; 

 in short, they have many traits of character in 

 common with the dog, as well as many points of 

 external resemblance; hence their very common 

 appellation of sea-dogs. They are extremely active 

 in the water, but upon land are easily overtaken 

 and killed. The form of their teeth and jaws 

 shows them to be carnivorous, and their food con- 

 sists of fish, crabs, and sea-birds, vhich they are 

 enabled to surprise while swimming. In the Arctic 

 regions, seals are often found under the ice, at the 

 distance of many miles from open water, and form 

 circular breathing holes, even though the ice be 

 several feet in thickness; these openings are kept 

 clear, but the surface is permitted to freeze over 

 partially, so as to conceal them effectually, except 

 from an experienced eye. Seals become extreirely 

 fat, and their skins and oil have now become a 

 very important article of commerce. The oil is 

 pure, and adapted to all the purposes for which 

 whale-oil is used ; and the skins are extensively 

 employed in trunk-making, saddlery, by hatters, 

 &c. Expeditions are fitted out, both in Europe 

 and in the United States of America, for the sole 

 purpose of catching seals. 



The common seal of Europe (phoca vitulina) 

 grows to the length of three feet; the colour of 



