HARP SEAL. 263 



gularly defined black arch or crescent commen- 

 cing at the upper part of the back ; the two bows 

 or horns proceeding obliquely downwards along 

 each side towards the tail : the head also is black : 

 it is said, however, that the black arch does not 

 appear till the fifth year of the animal's age; and 

 that the colour differs annually till that period, 

 during which time the species is distinguished by 

 the Greenlanders according to the respective va- 

 riation of colour. There is also said to be a 

 blackish variety. 



The English Seal-hunters term this species the 

 Harp Seal, or Heart Seal, and the black arch is 

 called the saddle. It is a native of the seas about 

 Greenland, Newfoundland, Iceland, the White 

 Sea, &c. and, according to Mr. Pennant, passes 

 through the Asiatic Straits, as low as Kamt- 

 schatka. It is reckoned the most valuable of all 

 the Seals; the skin being the thickest and the 

 best, and its produce of oil the greatest. It grows 

 to the length of nine feet. In the Leverian Mu- 

 seum is a fine specimen of this animal. 



