20G PIVISION I. VEKTEBK.VI. ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMiLVLIA. 



C. Ili-'^jiidii.'i. — liougli or Ilristlcd Se:il. This species is described hy 

 tlie author iif the " Fauxa Gkucnlaxdica," as the snuillest of all that are 

 ioiiiul in the iinrthera regions, scarcely ever exceeding lour and a halt' feet in 

 length, witii a per[)endicidar heigiit of ten inches. The head is short and 

 roinid, the muzzle extending to about one third of the wIkiIc head. The 

 whiskers arc white, with a few black hairs ; they arc sharp, compressed, and 

 a good deal curved at their extremities; the eyes are small, the pupil white, 

 and the iris iircAvn. The liody is almost elliptical and slender. The color 

 on the back is brownish, intermixed with white spots, and on the abdomen 

 white, with a few brownish spots. The young are almost without spots, but 

 have the back of a somewhat livid color, with the belly white. The old 

 males emit a most nauseating odor, which even disgusts the filthy Green- 

 lander, on which account Desmarest gave it the specific name, Vhoca Fwllda. 



'ihis seal does not venture to explore the ojjcn ocean, but delights in re- 

 tired bays, and in the neighborhood of the ice of the coasts, from which, 

 especially when old, it very unwillingly departs. Its food is all kinds of 

 small fish, such as haddock, but it is particularly fond of lobsters and crabs. 

 The period of gestation is eight months, and the young are brought forth in 

 February, on the fixed ice, its proper haunt. Here it has a hole, not so 

 much for breathing as for fishing, near which it remains, usually solitary, 

 rarely in jiairs. It is the most incautious of seals, both in the water and on 

 the ice, and sometimes whilst asleep on the wa\e it is poimccd uj)on I)y the 

 eagle, and borne to the shore, where a fierce battle often ensues, not always, 

 however, with a result satisfactory to the king of birds. 



j\Iany thousands of this species are killed yearly on the west coast of 

 (Greenland, in latitude 72°. Notwithstanding their sickening smell, the 

 <_!rcenlandcrs appear to relish their flesh, which they devour with great 

 a\idity and enjoyment ; but the oil and skins are their only products known 

 to commerce. 1'hc latter were formerly very extensively employed in the 

 United States in the mamifacture of caps and trunks. 



PliDca Lvpof'uia. — The Ilarc-like Seal. It is singular that Lcpechin's 

 descrij)tion of this species, pul)lishcd nearly a hundred years ago, is almost 

 the only account of it ever presented to the public. According to him, the 

 length of this seal is six and a half feet, and its greatest circumference five. 

 The head is elongated ; the upper lip as if swollen, and thick like that of a 

 calf: the wliiskers are strong and thick, covering the whole front of the lip ; 

 the eyes are l.ilue, and the pui)ils black ; the fore paws are short and feeble, 

 ending abruptly ; the membrane of the hind feet is not liinated, but straight. 

 Its color is a tmiforni dull white, with a tinge of yellow, and it is never 

 spotted ; the hairs are erect, and interwoven and soft, like those of the 

 hare, especially when the seal is young. This seal frequents the "White Sea 



