ABOUT THE SEA-ELEPHANT. 



443 



or trunk of the male, to which its popular name alludes. 

 Its skin is rough ; of a bluish-gray, or, sometimes, a 



THE SEA-ELEPHANT. 



blackish-brown colour. It has very large prominent 

 eyes. The hairs in its moustache are rough, and of a 

 spiral shape ; its canine teeth are large, curved, and 

 sharp-pointed. It has a short but fully developed tail. 



Having said so much about the seals, it is time we 

 turned our attention, and the reader's, to the sealers ; 

 that is, to the extensive commerce of which the unfortun- 

 ate phocsG are the staple. The sealers pursue their ad- 

 venturous calling in every part of the arctic waters, and 

 belong to the chief maritime nations England, France, 

 Holland, Denmark, and the United States. One of the 



