io8 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



you ; yoa may put a bullet through his body ; he 

 plunges into the sea and disappears. But a seal's head 

 is not a large object at any considerable distance ; and 

 if he is swimming, you have probably only a part of his 

 head in view. If you are in a boat, your stance is 

 more or less unsteady, however smooth the sea may be. 

 Then, however close he may be to you, it is needless to 

 fire, if, as is usually the case, he is looking at you ; for 

 he is quite as expert as most of the diving sea-birds 

 in " diving on the fire," or rather throwing his head to 

 a side with a sudden spring and splash. Further, if 

 you kill him in the water, the chances are at least 

 equal that he instantly sinks, fathoms deep, amongst 

 great rocks covered with seaweed, where dredging is 

 out of the question ; and other expedients that may be 

 tried, equally, in nine cases out of ten, fail. At other 

 times, however, a seal shot in the water will float like 

 a buoy. It is not very clear why one seal should float 

 and another sink. It is certainly not referable to the 

 condition of the animal. Fat seals sink as readily as 

 lean ones ; and lean seals float as readily as fat ones. 

 Probably they float or sink according as their lungs 

 are or are not inflated with air at the moment they 

 receive their death- wound. 



Besides a thoroughly trustworthy weapon, the seal- 

 hunter requires to provide himself with a " waterglass," 

 a " clam," and a stout rod twelve to twenty feet long, 

 with a ling-hook firmly lashed to the end of it, making 

 a sort of gaff. These are for use in the event of a 

 seal sinking. The waterglass is simply a box or tub 



