CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 6. PINNIPEDIA. 323 



is, in its habits and motions, essentially aquatic, and though its respiration is still exclusively 

 serial, yet it is suspended for long intervals, usually a quarter of an hour ; and sometimes, as in 

 a case witnessed by F. Cuvier, extending to an hour. Notwithstanding this peculiarity, the 

 blood is abundant and very hot; it is, however, also very black. Intended to pursue the 

 fishes that glide so swiftly through the depths of ocean, these amphibia are perfectly formed 

 for this object; and while we find in them all the organs common to terrestrial animals, it is 

 highly interesting to behold how beautifully and skillfully each is modified in form to corre- 

 spond to the required change of habit. None can look upon a seal without being at once struck 

 with its fish-like shape; the rounded chest tapering away to a point, which is the most favorable 

 form for rapid progression in water. To counteract the chilling influence of the medium in which 

 they dwell, the whole body is encased in a thick layer of highly elastic fat, which also resists the 

 pressure of the superincumbent water at great depths, and renders the whole animal specifically 

 lighter, — three very important purposes. The skin is clothed with thick, downy wool; but as 

 this would impede swift motion, it is covered with an outer coat of close, strong, shining hair. 

 The nostrils are closed at will; the orifice of the ear can also be closed ; and the eye is furnished 

 with a third eyelid, which can be drawn across it as a defense. The limbs are short, and almost 

 inclosed within the body, little more than the feet projecting ; the toes, however, being strongly 

 webbed, render them very efficient as fins; and the hind pair, in particular, from their shape and 

 position, have a strong resemblance to the broad horizontal tail of the cetacea. In fact they an- 

 swer the same purpose — that of sending up the animal rapidly to the surface, by a powerful, ver- 

 tical stroke. The feet are scarcely used in motion on land, where yet they move with consider- 

 able speed. The mode in which this is effected, is another of the interesting peculiarities of this 

 tribe. The vertebra; of the spine are much more separated than usual, the connecting cartilages 

 being much larger, allowing it great freedom of curvature, and the muscles which bend it are par- 

 ticularly strong. In moving forward, the seal arches its spine, bringing the hinder part forward, 

 then pressing with the hind feet on the ground, straightens the body with a jerk; and by a repe- 

 tition of such apparently awkward springs as these, it manages to get along, sometimes at a 

 good round pace." 



Though little known to science, the seals have been long known to commerce; and the pur- 

 suit of the animals for their oil and skins forms no inconsiderable source of national wealth. 

 Fleets of vessels of various sizes, manned by expert and hardv seamen, annually leave the shores 

 of Europe and America, bound either for the Arctic regions, the coast of Newfoundland, or the 

 desolate shores of extreme South America, whence they return, after long voyages attended with 

 incredible hardships, loaded with the valuable products of the seal. The sealing trade of the 

 South Sea is confined to the ships of England and the United States. 



The following notes in regard to the Newfoundland seal-fishery, derived from the personal 

 observations of Gosse, will be found interesting and instructive : " In the month of February, the 

 sealing craft, usually schooners and brigs from sixty to one hundred and fifty tons, which had 

 been laid up and partly dismantled all the winter, are prepared for the voyage, and by the first of 

 March they are fitted out. The crew, according to the size of the vessel, varies from sixteen to 

 thirty-five hands, many of whom are provided with large guns, and the rest with stout clubs or 

 • bats.' Each man has also a ' gaff - ,' or pole, provided with a hook at the end, to assist him in 

 leaping from pan to pan when among loose ice. From the first to the tenth of March they 

 endeavor to get out, but it frequently happens that the harbors are frozen over to the depth of 

 several feet. In this case the crews of all the vessels in the port unite to cut with ice-saws a 

 broad channel through the midst of the harbor to the open sea ; and as these united crews 

 sometimes amount to two thousand men, it mav reasonablv be supposed that the broad icy 

 plain displays a scene of no ordinary animation and excitement. Each individual craft has- to 

 , make good its own passage into the common channel ; and when all the labors are completed, 

 and the vessels, to the number of a hundred or more, are arranged in ■ single file, and, with all 

 canvas set and flags flying at every mast and peak, are rapidly sailing down the channel, be- 

 fore a steady breeze in the presence of all the assembled inhabitants, the sight is most exhil- 

 , arating. One by- one issues from the narrow gorge into the open water, and soon all are seen 



