DR. J. MURIE ON THE MANATEE. 23 
cabbage; but afterwards it chose lettuce, and entirely eschewed the others}. When in 
the height of health it consumed, according to Mr. Carrington, from 90 to 112 1b. of 
green food daily. As lettuce became scarce and dear, it cost 10s. a day to supply it 
with the French sort; and although cabbage &c. was then cheap and abundant, it 
daintily chose the former, and as steadily avoided and refused the latter. 
For six months all went well, and numerous were the visitors that came and went 
without disturbing the equanimity or destroying the appetite of this Sirenian. The 
tank-water was kept at about 70° to 74° Fahr. by steam being introduced at regular 
intervals or whenever the thermometer showed a depression. But just at Christmas 
time, during very cold weather, by accident the keeper one night in the dark unskil- 
fully left the waste-plug loose or obliquely placed it in the hole; consequently the water 
slowly drained away, and Manatee was left high and dry to suffer from a serious chill 
of the cold atmosphere. Next morning when the water was run into the tank it 
showed signs of depression and illness, and thenceforth, apparently refusing all food, 
it daily became thinner and thinner, but lingered on until the 15th of March, 1879, 
when it died of sheer exhaustion 2. 
? According to Dr. Sclater (J. c.), the Manatee which lived in the Zoological Society’s Gardens in 1875, was 
fed there on lettuce and yegetable-marrow. Dr. Chapman states the Philadelphian animals, while under obser- 
vation, ate and appeared thoroughly to enjoy Valisneria spiralis (as much as twenty-one pounds in twenty- 
four hours), Ceratophyllum (the Hornwort), and Ulva latissima ; but he likewise says, “the Manatee will eat 
freely of cabbage, spinach, kale, baked apples, celery-tops,” &c. (J. c. pp. 459 & 461). 
* The following extract from the ‘ Field’ is a short popular report of the post-mortem examination that I 
drew out for Mr. Carrington’s use, and which explains the precise nature of the creature’s illness &c. :— 
“‘ Agreeably to your wish I herewith supply you with a short report on the cause of death of the Manatee. 
I need hardly remind you of the sex—a female, adult though not old. As you are well aware, the animal 
had yery sensibly lost flesh, so that, instead of the original barrel-like plump figure, gradual wasting had 
caused backbone and ribs to acquire exterior prominence most unusual in the Sirenian tribe. All the 
important organs—to wit, the brain, heart and lungs, stomach, liver, and kidneys—were sound and healthy, 
though flaccid and flabby in texture. The flesh and fat of the Manatees when killed in their native haunts are 
well known to be firm, but pale-coloured, and uncommonly good eating, comparable in appearance and flavour 
to well-fed veal or pork. In this Aquarium specimen, however, it may be assumed that during its late illness 
and fasting both fat and muscular substance had degenerated and run to waste. Literally, fat, in most limited 
quantity, was indistinguishable from the cellular and fibrous tissues and flesh, and, excepting the more solid 
back- and tail-muscles, soft and watery to a degree. Under the tongue was a small watery bladder, or cyst, 
resembling what, surgically, is called a “ranula.” This cyst may be of parasitic origin; but I have laid it aside 
for further examination. It certainly was not of a fatal character. The real cause of the animal’s illness and 
subsequent death lay in another quarter, namely, abdomen and bowels. On opening the belly, about its 
middle, I found a small piece of the gut adherent to the inner lining of the belly-wall ; and further examina- 
tion showed that a limited area of the intestine had undergone inflammation, ulceration, and peritonitis, the 
latter accounting for the adhesion above mentioned. The very thick muscular coat of the intestine evidently 
prevented absolute perforation and rapid death. As far as the structures in question enable me to judge, the 
illness about Christmas time may be attributed to a sudden colic and inflammation of the intestine (enteritis), 
or, as likely, sharp peritoneal attack (peritonitis), brought on by the rapid chill in the temperature of the 
air. All the symptoms you mention point to this. The almost total loss of appetite afterwards, gradual 
depression, and wasting bear out the probable course of the disease, but indicate the local character of the 
