202 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



tlie same swiftness of lociiniotiini in the sea, are often seen in onr nnmcrous 

 Lays shooting along the waves, and darting here and there with surprising 

 agilily. AMien swinnning about nothing escapes their scrutiny ; even tlie 

 sliadows of the clouds, as they pass before the sun, seem to attract their 

 attention. They will gaze long, as if in meditation, upon the domestic ani- 

 mals and human beings who may be moving along the shores, and when 

 tired of this inspection of terrestrial objects, will suddenly shoot to the bot- 

 tom to seek their accustomed food. They are great caters, and appear to 

 enjoy their meals amazingly. They feed on fish of all sorts, and are espe- 

 cially fond of flounders, which, being a ground fish, are easily caught. 



The most civilized nations of the north once considered tlieni delicate arti- 

 cles of food, but at present this use of them is confined to the barbarcius 

 tril)es of the frozen regions. They are sought after by the former solely for 

 their skins and oil. AVe have already descri!>ed several of the methods cm- 

 jiloyed for the capture of the seal, and \\\\\ here mention only a i'cw of tlie 

 modes by which this species is hunted. The caves arc visited which the seals 

 freipicnt, and many yoimg ones are slain with clubs. The old ones are 

 sliot when thev can be reached on sand banks and rocks. Sometimes they 

 are destroyed by recurved iron spikes, secured in beams of wood, fixed on 

 the baidis, near low-water mark, \\here they delight to bask in the sunshine. 

 The seals, at the jiropcr time of the tide, are surprised, and driven rapidly 

 into the water, when they arc intercepted by the spikes, and despatched with 

 clubs. INIartin, in his " Western Islands," gives an account of an aimual 

 seal-hunt that takes jilaee in the month of October, near a rocky island, off 

 N. I'ist. "A nimilicr of boats resort to this place, with jicople sufficient to 

 t;tiard all tlic passaaes, and, on a signal iriven, the treneral attack bcrrins, 

 and sometimes three hundred young and old are killed in the encounter." 



^Ir. Ednionston informs us that in Shetland they are often taken by set^ 

 ting a net, gcneralh' at night, a little before i'ull tide, around tlujse rocks 

 A\hich are known to be their favorite haunts, taking care that the upper edge 

 of the net be sunk to such a depth as shall admit of the seals swinnning 

 over it. These animals almost iuii\crsally lay themselves on the rocks, 

 when the wind is off shore, soon after the water begins to fall. AVhen they 

 have been observed to have done so, and time has been allowed for the tide 

 to fall sufficiently to bring the edge of the net to the snrfiicc, a sudden alarm 

 is given, and the seals, in their Inu-ry to escape, regardless of every other 

 consideration, become entangled in the net, and are taken. The seal- 

 hunter, liowever, is not always successful, for this sagacious animal, taught 

 by experience, renders futile the hunter's art, sometimes by creeping out at 

 the bottom of the net, or Ijy jinnping over it at the surface. 



C. Discolor. — The jNIarblcd Seal. Except in color this species does not 



