THE SEAL. 371 



tember. This time it is supposed they go in pursuit of 

 food. But they make a second departure in March to cast 

 their young, and return in the beginning of June, young 

 and all, in a great body together, observing in their route 

 a certain fixed time and track, like birds of passage. 

 When they go upon this expedition, they are seen in great 

 droves, for many days together, making towards the north, 

 taking that part of the sea most free from ice, and going 

 still forward into those seas where man cannot follow. In 

 what manner they return, or by what passage, is utterly 

 unknown ; it is only observed, that when they leave the 

 coasts to go upon this expedition, they are all extremely 

 fat, but on their return, they come home excessively lean. 



The females, in our climate, bring forth in the winter, 

 and rear their young upon some sand-bank, rock, or deso- 

 late island, at some distance from the continent. When 

 they suckle their young they sit up on their hinder legs, 

 while these, which are at first \Vhite, with woolly hair, 

 cling to the teats, of which there are four in number, near 

 the navel. In this manner the young continue in the place 

 where they are brought forth, for twelve or fifteen days ; 

 after which the dam brings them down to the water, and 

 accustoms them to swim and get their food by their own 

 industry. As each litter never exceeds above three or four, 

 so the animal's cares are not much divided, and the edu- 

 cation of her little ones is soon completed. In fact, the 

 young are particularly docile ; they understand the mother's 

 voice among the numerous bleatings of the rest of the old 

 ones ; they mutually assist each other in danger, and are 

 perfectly obedient to her call. Thus early accustomed to 

 subjection, they continue to live in society, hunt and breed 

 together, and have a variety of tones by which they en- 

 courage to pursue or warn each other of danger. Some 

 compare their voices to the bleating of a flock of sheep, 

 interrupted now and then by the barking of angry dogs, 

 and sometimes the shriller notes of a cat. All along the 



