448 THE DUGONG. 



writers the animal is said to leave the water entirely, and to search for its food upon the land, 

 but this assertion is now ascertained to be incorrect. It is, however, in the habit of crawling 

 partly out of the water, and has a strange custom of elevating its head and shoulders above the 

 surface in such a manner that it bears some resemblance to a human being. 



The flesh of this animal is said to be well flavored, and as the Manatee is ecclesiastically 

 reckoned as a fish, together with the whales, seals, and other water-loving creatures, it is 

 permitted as a lawful article of diet on fasting days. When properly salted and preserved by 

 drying in the sun, the flesh of this animal will remain sweet for a whole year. The skin of the 

 Manatee is in great request for the formation of sundry leathern articles in which great strength 

 is required, and the oil which is extracted from its fat is of excellent quality, and is free from 

 the unpleasant rancid odor which characterizes so many animal oils. 



So valuable an animal is subject to great persecution on the part of the natives, who dis- 

 play great activity, skill, and courage in the pursuit of their amphibious quarry. The skin 

 of the Manatee is so thick and strong that the wretched steel of which their weapons are com- 

 posed is quite unable to penetrate the tough hide. Nothing is so effectual a weapon for this 

 service as a common three-cornered file, which is fastened to a spear-shaft, and pierces through 

 the tough hide with the greatest ease. The skin of the Manatee is so thick that it can be cut 

 into strips like the too-celebrated "cow-hide" of America, which is manufactured from the 

 skin of the hippopotamus. Before being dressed, the hide of the . Manatee is thinly covered 

 with rather stiff bristles. 



The Manatee {Manatus americanus) is quite limited in its habitat. In North America, 

 Tampa Bay, in Florida, is one of the few localities inhabited by it. Formerly it was very 

 abundant in the creeks and inlets of Florida. The Seminole Indians hunted it largely ; and it 

 is probable that it will soon become extinct. One characteristic of this creature is its herbivor- 

 ous nature ; its teeth being of the nature of grinders. The front teeth are not developed, but 

 instead there are cartilaginous pads, which are something like those of the upper jaw of 

 ruminants, serving the same purpose, to nip the tender plants of the shallow water. 



A specimen was kept at the Central Park Menagerie several months, where ample oppor- 

 tunity was offered to study the habits of this rare and strange animal. Perhaps no other 

 creature is so completely uncouth and unattractive. Its general aspect is much like that of a 

 gigantic mole. 



The extinct form Bytina has lately been made somewhat more familiar to science by means 

 of a large number of bones sent from Behring's Strait to the Smithsonian Institution. The 

 collection was sufficiently diversified to allow of several perfect skeletons being put together. 



The Dtjgong may easily be distinguished from the manatee by the formation of the tail, 

 which in the latter animal is rounded, but in the former is forked. These animals are found 

 on the eastern coast of Africa and on the shores of the Indian Ocean. 



In Ceylon the Dugong is exceedingly plentiful, and it also inhabits the northern coasts of 

 Australia, where it is assiduously chased by the natives. The name of Sirenia, which is given 

 to this group of animals, is chiefly owing to the peculiar form and habits of the Dugong, 

 which has a curious custom of swimming with its head and neck above the surface of the 

 water, so that it bears some grotesque resemblance to the human form, and might have given 

 rise to the poetical tales of mermaids and sirens which have prevailed in the literature of all 

 ages and countries. When the female Dugong is nursing her child, she carries it in one arm, 

 and takes care to keep the head of her offspring, as well as her own, above the surface of the 

 water, and thus presents a strangely human aspect. If alarmed, she immediately dives below 

 the waves, and flinging her fish-like tail into the air, corresponds in no inadequate degree with 

 the popular notions of mermaid form. 



The usual haunts of the Dugong are at the mouth of rivers or similar spots, where the 

 subaqueous algfe grow in greatest profusion, and it never seems to be found where water is 

 more than three or four fathoms in depth. It is not so good a diver as the seals, not being 

 furnished with the peculiar blood-reservoirs which enable those animals to survive beneath the 

 water for so great a length of time ; and it is therefore unable to seek its food except in shallow 



