THE SEA COW 



231 



that they cannot at all be found and recognized among the 

 many grooves and wrinkles of the skin until the skin has been 

 taken off, when its polished blackness reveals the ear opening, 

 which, however, is hardly large enough for the insertion of a pea. 

 Of the external ear there is not the slightest trace. The head is 

 connected with the rest of the body by a short neck not set off 

 from it. On the underside the unusual forefeet and the breasts 

 are worth}' of observation. The feet consist of two joints, the 

 extreme end of which has a rather close resemblance to a horse's 

 hoof; they are furnished underneath with many short and closely 

 set bristles like a scratch brush. ^^^ With these front feet, on 

 which neither fingers nor nails can be distinguished, ^^^ the 

 animal swims ahead, knocks the seaweeds from the rocks on the 

 bottom, and, when lying on its back getting ready for mating, 

 one embraces the other as with arms. Under these forefeet are 

 found the breasts, with black, wrinkled, two-inch long teats, at 

 the extreme end of which innumerable milk ducts open. When 

 pulled hard these ducts give off a great amount of milk, which 

 surpasses the milk of land animals in sweetness and richness 

 but is otherwise not different. — The back of this animal is 

 formed almost like that of an ox. The median crest of the 

 backbone is raised up high. Next to this [projection] on both 

 sides there is a flat hollow along the back. The flanks are oblongly 

 rounded. The belly is roundish and very distended and at all 

 times stuffed so full that at the slightest wound the entrails at 

 once protude with much whistling. Its relative size is like the 

 belly of a frog. From the genitals on the body suddenly de- 

 creases greatly in circumference. The tail itself, however, be- 

 comes gradually thinner towards the flipper, which serves as 

 hind feet; yet immediately in front of the flipper it is still two 

 feet wide. Moreover, this animal has no other fin than the tail 



154 The MS here has in addition: "and I hesitate whether to call them 

 hands or feet for the reason that with the exception of the birds we do 

 not have a single two-footed animal." 



155 "on which neither fingers nor nails can be distinguished" is not in 

 the MS. 



