MIGRATIONS AND BEEEDING STATIONS. 645 



the coast of Greenlaud, somewhere near Iceland, where they 

 spend the winter. We are, however, at a loss regarding the 

 winter habits of these Seals in that region ; here no one winters, 

 and there are no inhabitants to note their migrations and ways 

 of life. Different is it, however, on the Greenland shores of 

 Davis's Strait, where in the Danish settlements the Seals form, 

 both with the whites and Eskimo, the staple article of food and 

 commerce, and accordingly their habits and arrival are well 

 known and eagerly watched. The AtarsoaJc, as it is commonly 

 called by the Eskimo, the 'Svartsidede Sselhnnd' (Black-sided 

 Sealhonnd) of the Danes, is the most common Seal in all South 

 Greenland. It is equally by this Seal that the Eskimo lives, 

 and the ' Kongl-Gronlandske HandeP makes its commerce. 

 In South Greenland when the Seal generally is talked of, or a 

 good or bad year spoken about, everybody thinks of this Seal ; 

 on the other hand, in North Greenland, Fagomys fcetidus and 

 Calloceplialus vitulinus are the most common. These last two 

 species are the only Seals which can be j)roi)erly said to have 

 their home in Greenland, affecting ice-fjords and rarely going 

 far from the coast. This is not the case with P. grcenlandicus ; at 

 certain times of the year thej' completely leave the coast ; there- 

 fore the Seal-hunting in South Greenland is more dependent 

 upon contingencies than in North Greenland. This Seal arrives 

 regularly in September in companies travelling from the south 

 to north, keeping among the islands ; occasionally at this time 

 individuals detach themselves from the drove and go up the 

 inlets. . . ."* 



Both Dr. Eink and Mr. Brown believe that it is very improb- 

 able that the Seals of South Greenlaud visit Jan Mayen in the 

 breeding season, deeming it more likely that they resort for 

 this purpose to the southern ice-floes off the Labrador coast. 

 "As to their whereabouts during their absence," however, ob- 

 serves the former, " we are somewhat at a loss for perfect infor- 

 mation. There can be no doubt that in spring they retreat to 

 the icefields of the ocean for the purpose of producing their 

 young. It seems most unlikely that the seals from the west 

 coast should have such breeding places to the east of Green- 

 land in the Spitzbergen sea, which would require the whole 

 stock of them to round Cape Farewell at least twice a year. 

 But, considering that just opi)Osite to the west coast extensive 



* Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1868, pp. 421, 422; Man. Nat. Hist., etc., Green- 

 land, Mam., pp. 51, 52. 



