38 PIIOCID.E. 



Caithness at the time of Pennant, and circumstantially described by him 

 in his British Zoology, vol. i. p. 124. 



In Mas^vcU's " Wild Sports of the West," Letter 7, a story is told of a 

 seal which had been taken when young in Clew Bay, and domesticated 

 in the kitchen of a gentleman whose house was situated on the sea-shore. 

 There it remained for four years, and so great was its attachment to this 

 habitation that it returned three times after having been as frequently 

 committed to the deep, at a considerable distance from the shore, with 

 the view of banishing it. On the last of these occasions it had been 

 cruelly de])rived of sight, but, notwithstanding this, the poor animal con- 

 trived to hnd its way back on the eighth night after its expulsion. The 

 same writer adds the following note : — In January, 1819, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Burnt Island, a gentleman completely succeeded in taming a 

 seal. Its singularities attracted the curiosity of strangers daily. It ap- 

 peared to possess all the sagacity of the dog, and lived in its master's 

 house and ate from his hand. In his fishing excin"sions this gentleman 

 generally took it with him ; upon Avhich occasions it afforded no small 

 entertainment. When thrown into the water it Avould follow for miles 

 the track of the boat, and although thrust back by the oars, it never 

 relinquished its purpose ; indeed, it struggled so hard to regain its seat 

 that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely overcome 

 the natural predilection for its native element. 



At Ballantrae (Ayrshire), on 29th August, 1839, I purchased a seal of 

 this species which had been just captured in the salmon nets ; — a very rare 

 occurrence. One of the fishermen, who had formerly served in a Green- 

 land whaler, stated that in the north he had seen three huncked seals 

 killed in one day, and that they distinguished five kinds by colour. The 

 young ones they had taken alive, and had kept for a few days on board, 

 but it had been always found necessary to despatch them, in consequence 

 of their noise at night preventing the sailors from sleeping. 



Some interesting notes relative to seals upon the western coast of Ire- 

 land in the seventeenth century will be found in O'Flaherty's West or 

 H-Iar Connaught. — Rutty also mentions the seal. 



The Grey Seal, Haliehcerus Gryplnts, Ball, 



Has been found around the coast generally. 



We are indebted to Dr. Ball for distinguishing this species as a native 

 of the British seas. Mr. Bell, in his History of British Quadrupeds, p. 

 279, et seq., gives fall and valuable notes respecting this animal, supplied 

 to him by Dr. Ball, and the latter gentleman has given further informa- 

 tion on the same subject in his paper already referred to in connexion 

 with the common seal. From this paper I extract the following note con- 

 tributed by myself. 



"January 31st, 1S37. 



" George Matthews, Esq. of Springvale, in tlie county of Down, informed me 

 to-day that about three weeks ago, when setting out to shoot wild-ibwl near 

 Ballywalter, accompanied by an attendant, they observed an old and young seal 

 upon the rocks, at such a distance from the sea as induced them to commence pur- 

 suit in the hope of intercepting them on their return to it. In this thevAvere so 

 far successful as to capture the young one, which they fastened to the rock, hoping 

 that its cries, which they compared to those of a calf, might attract the parent 

 witlim gun-shot. They then concealed themselves to the whidward of the old 

 one, and for about an hour and a half saw it emerge at the distance of from 

 four to five hundred yards at least once every ten or fifteen minutes, but oc- 



