SEALS. MORSE. 71 



only for crawling; but as the spaces between their fingers are 

 filled up by membranes, they form excellent oars. (Mate. 3. fig. 7.) 

 They only land to bask in the sun, to sleep, and to suckle their 

 young. Their elongated 'body, their very moveable spine, pro- 

 vided with muscles which flex it with great force, their narrow 

 pelvis, their rough hair lying close to the skin, concur to render 

 them good swimmers. They form two families: the Seal, and 

 the Mojse. 



80. SEALS, Phoca, (Plate 3, fig 7.) have a round head 

 resembling that of a dog, a mild intelligent look, the canine teeth 

 of moderate size, the fore paws armed with hooked nails, the 

 posterior extremities directed backwards and in the form of fins. 

 These animals live in numerous troops near coasts, and feed 

 principally on fishes: they always eat in the water ; they swim 

 with great ease and dive very well. The ancients knew these 

 animals and introduced them into their fables. The flocks of 

 Neptune that Proteus tended were composed of seals, and the 

 poetic mythology of the Greeks has transformed these Amphibia 

 into Tritons and Syrens to escort their god of the sea. Modern 

 voyagers often designate them under the names of Sta-califcs, 

 Sea-cows, Sea-beam, $c. This little family is divided into 

 several genera. 



81. [Seals are found on the coasts of the South Shetland Isles, 

 and the western coast of America, and in the Northern Seas. 

 They are much hunted for the sake of their skins. These ani- 

 mals are of great importance to the Finnish Islanders, the Kamt- 

 schatkadales, and particularly the Greenlanders, and to the Esqui- 

 maux of Labrador. The two latter people live on their flesh, 

 clothe themselves, build their summer huts, make their canoes, &c. 

 of their skins. The chase of the seal forms their principal busi- 

 ness, and their success in this, forms at once their fortune and glory. 



82. The MORSE, Tnchei-hns, (the Walrus) is easily distin- 

 guished from the Seal by its enormous canine teeth which, planted 

 in the upper jaw, are directed downwards like tusks, and 

 sometimes attain two feet in length. (Plate 3, fig. 8.) The 

 necessarily large size of the alveoli for the accommodation of such 

 immense canine teeth, raises up the whole front of the upper 

 jaw into the form of a swelled jowl, and the nostrils open upwards 

 instead of terminating the muzzle. There are neither incisor nor 

 canine teeth in the lower jaw, which is compressed anteriorly, to 

 pass between the enormous canine teeth or tusks of the upper one 



80. What are the characteristics of Seals? What are their habits ? 



81. What p:trts of the world do Seals inhabit ? 



82. How is the Morse distinguished from the Seal? 



