358 CALLORHINUS URSINUS NORTHERN FUR SEAL. 



u The sleep of the fur-seal, from the old bull to the young pup, 

 is always accompanied by a nervous, muscular twitching and 

 slight shifting of the flippers ; quivering and uneasy rolling of 

 the body, accompanied by a quick folding anew of the fore flip- 

 pers, winch are signs, as it were, of their having nightmares, 

 or sporting, perhaps, in a visionary way far off in some dream- 

 land sea ; or disturbed, perhaps more probably, by their intes- 

 tinal parasites. I have studied hundreds of all classes, steal- 

 ing softly up so closely that I could lay my hand on them, and 

 have always found the sleep to be of this nervous description. 

 The respiration is short and rapid, but with no breathing (un- 

 less your ear is brought very close) or snoring sound ; the heav- 

 ing of the flanks only indicates the action. I have frequently 

 thought that I had succeeded in finding a snoring seal, espe- 

 cially among the pups, but a close examination always gave 

 some abnormal reason for it, generally a slight distemper, by 

 which the nostrils were stopped up to a greater or less degree. 



u As I have said before, the cows, soon after landing, are de- 

 livered of their young. 



" Immediately after the birth of the pup, (twins are rare, if 

 ever [occurring],) it finds its voice, a weak, husky bloat, and 

 begins to paddle about, with eyes wide open, in a confused sort 

 of way for a few minutes until the mother is ready to give it 

 attention, and, still later, suckle it; and for this purpose she 

 is provided with four small, brown nipples, placed about eight 

 inches apart, lengthwise with the body, on the abdomen, be- 

 tween the fore and hinder flippers, with some four inches of 

 space between them transversely. The nipples are not usually 

 visible ; only seen through the hair and fur. The milk is abun- 

 dant, rich, and creamy. The pups nurse very heartily, gorging 

 themselves. 



" The pup at birth, and for the next three months, is of a jet- 

 black color, hair, eyes, and flippers, save a tiny white patch 

 just back of each fore foot, and weighs from 3 to 4 pounds, and 

 12 to 14 inches long ; it does not seem to nurse more than once 

 every two or three days, but in this I am most likely mistaken, 

 for they may have received attention from the mother in the 

 night or other times in the day when I was unable to watch 

 them. 



"The apathy with which the young are treated by tjie old on 

 the breeding-grounds is somewhat strange. I have never seen 

 a cow caress or fondle her offspring, and should it stray but a 



