THE SEAL. 379 



seen, I do not remember that any two were precisely alike. 

 The very young females seem to be generally of a dull yel- 

 lowish white, with rather long hair, which falls off in 

 about a month or six weeks, and gives place to a shorter 

 and more shining coat, variously blotched with gray : this 

 is brighter at first, and gradually grows more dull, and the 

 blotching more indistinct on the upper parts, as the animal 

 advances in age ; whilst in the breast and lower parts, the 

 blotchings in some specimens show almost as distinctly as 

 the spots of a leopard. From a peculiarity in the hair of 

 the adult, it being considerably recurved, and as if its up- 

 per surface were scraped flat with a knife, the animal, 

 when dry, and with its head turned towards the spectator 

 appears of a uniform silvery gray, whilst viewed in the op- 

 posite direction, it appears altogether of a sooty browri 

 color ; the spots or blotches being only visible on a side 

 view. The only male specimen I possess died young : it 

 has long yellowish hair, slightly tinged with brownish-black 

 on the back ; it is black on the muzzle, chin and cheeks, 

 extending round the eyes, but not to the upper part of the 

 nose ; and the palms of the fore-paws are black. 



It occurred to me several years since, that I could kill 

 Seals by going to the mouths of their caves, and striking 

 them with the harpoon' as they dived out. Acting on this, 

 in August 1829, I went to Howth properly equipped, and 

 took a position at the mouth of a cave, in which I could 

 hear the inmates baying loudly like large dogs. On ma- 

 king a noise from the boat, several Seals passed out with 

 great velocity, at the depth of about eight feet : one I 

 .struck with an oar, and another with a harpoon, but not 

 effectually, as it gave way after a short struggle. Learn- 

 ing from the failure, we made ready for the next, which I 

 could distinctly see at the bottom of the water, attentively 

 watching us, sometimes advancing and again retreating : 

 it seem scared by the harpoons, which the friend who aid- 

 ed me and I held so deep in the water as only to offer it 



