498 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



with in the most distant latitudes. The high intellectual 

 qualities of the Seal, were, however, observed and appre- 

 ciated by the ancients. Diodorus, iElian, and Pliny, speak 

 of them at some length ; and all travellers and naturalists, 

 who have treated of the Seals, since the resumption of Zoo- 

 logical studies in Europe, have related additional proofs 

 of them. Notwithstanding the numerous facts known on 

 this subject, the analogy existing between the intelligence 

 and organization of these animals has not yet been esta- 

 blished, though a point of the highest consequence, and 

 one, without knowing something of which it is impossible 

 thoroughly to appreciate the moral nature of any intelligent 

 being. M. F. Cuvier, anxious to supply the desideratum 

 on this subject, paid a more than ordinary attention to 

 three Seals, in possession of the French Menagerie, and we 

 shall give our readers the result of his observations in as 

 few words as possible. 



These animals were very young, and differed little in 

 magnitude. They were about three feet in length. On 

 coming out of the water, they were not of the same colour 

 as when dry. In the first situation, the black spots on the 

 back were much more visible than in the second, and the 

 groundcolour of the coat was gray in one instance, and a 

 deep yellow in the other. 



The black spots were more or less extended in the dif- 

 ferent individuals, and the under part of the body more or 

 less pale than the upper. But, in all, the spots united 

 along the spine, and formed a broad dorsal line, extending 

 from the lower part of the head to the tail. One individual, 

 of a fawn-colour, had an additional black spot upon the 

 neck, in the form of a crescent, which was distinctly visible 

 in every position of the animal, and its head was continu- 

 ally surrounded by a circle of oiled hairs, announcing in 

 these parts the presence of some peculiar glandular organ. 



