THE COMMON SEA L. 57 



openings of the ears being merely orifices, deno- 

 minated auditory holes. The crystalline humour 

 of their eyes is almost as spherical as that of the 

 eyes of fish; and, contrary to the form in other 

 quadrupeds, its anterior part is the most convex*. 

 The bodies of Seals are always thicker about the 

 shoulders than in any other part ; and from thence 

 they taper gradually to the tail. 



THE COMMON SEALf. 



SEA-CALF OR SEA-DOG. 



THESE Seals are frequently observed on the sea 

 shores of the northern and rocky parts of Scotland. 

 About the Land's End, in Cornwall, they are, perhaps, 

 more numerous than on any of the coasts of South 

 Britain, unless it be those of a few parts of Wales, 

 Sometimes individuals are found off Cumberland 

 and Lancashire, Durham, Northumberland, and 

 Yorkshire; but, in general, they are rarely to be 

 observed near the counties south of these. 



* Raii. Syn. Quad. p. 190. 



f Phoca vitulina. Linnaeus. Le Phoque commun. Euffon. 

 For the description of this Seal, see the Synopsis, p. 10, No. 6. 



The 



