DR. J. MUEIE ON THE MANATEE. 25 



behind and above the eyes. In an old male doubtless this is more prominent ; and it 

 therefore may exonerate the Dutch artist from false representation, though certainly 

 the drawing in question is apt to mislead. 



Having given attention to the intervals occurring between the times of breathing 

 (" blowing ") in the White Whale {£ehir/a), which range from 10, 17, and 20 seconds 

 to a minute or a minute and a quarter when swimming round in the large tank of the 

 Aquarium, I found on contrast that the respiratory intervals of the Manatee are con- 

 siderably longer. I give the results of four observations made with watch in hand. 

 The figures represent minutes and seconds of time, and the breathing as noted iu 

 succession ; the four observations were, however, made on different occasions. Nos. I., 

 11., III. were recorded when the animal was in what I may term a drowsy condition. 

 No. IV. when fully awake and moving about. I omitted taking notes when the 

 Manatee was out of the water. 



m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. 



1 2 15 3 15 .3 10 2 45 4 27 3 12 2 13 4 25 2 57 



II 58 2 35 2 16 2 52 10, the latter an estremelj- brief inspiration 



immecliatel}' following one of moderate length. 



Ill 2 55 2 25 1 30 2 43 2 15 



IV 1 15 1 34 1 43 10 2 12 1 20 



Taking, then, the average time between the twenty-five inspirations in Manatus, it 

 is 2 minutes 20 seconds, or 2 m. 25 s. if the last of row II. is excluded. In twenty- 

 two successive inspirations in Beluga vigorously swimming, the average in one set of 

 observations made by me was 44 seconds. From the above data it will be seen that 

 the Sirenian ordinarily remains three times (3^) longer under water than the above 

 Cetacean genus. Dr. Chapman {I. c. p. 461) states of one of the Manatees that " at 

 intervals of about one minute to one minute and a quarter he rose to breathe." He 

 does not say whetlier the animal was in motion or at rest, which might make a differ- 

 ence. He further truly remarks : — " One can readily understand, after seeing the lungs 

 inflated, how easy it is for the animal to maintain its almost motionless position at 

 variable depths of the water, the lungs acting very much like the air-bladder in fishes, 

 and looking, indeed, more like the lungs of Lepidosteus than those of a mammal." 



Before referring to the singular positions in which the Manatee rests in the water, I may 

 take occasion to mention that the figures in the accompanying plates (PI. V. and, in 

 part. Pis. VI. & VII.), as will be seen on comparison, are not drawn to a uniform scale ; 

 nor are they in every case intended to represent accuracy as to detail of skin-texture. 

 They are all, however, sketches from nature by my old friend Mr. Berjeau, and are 

 chiefly designed to show the various attitudes assumed by this specimen when confined 

 in the glass tank of the aquarium. To some extent the drawings are preferable to 

 words, and convey at a glance a fair knowledge of nearly all the positions adopted by 

 the animal both during the day and night. 



One was prepared to expect that the somewhat rigid figures represented in PI. V. 



