96 MAMMALIA. 



purpose the)^ gather together iii great troops. The strongest and 

 oldest of the males leading the way, followed by the females, 

 with the young placed in the middle. 



Their flesh is said to be agreeable ; for it resembles beef in 

 the opinion of some, is like pork according to others. Their 

 fat is sweet, and keeps for a long time without becoming putrid. 



"What we have just said relates jjarticularljr to the American 

 species, which is found at the mouth of the Orinoco, of the 

 Amazon river, and all the great water-courses of tropical South 

 America. There exist other s^Decies, of which one inhabits Sene- 

 gal, another the Red Sea. 



The Duyong is distinguished from the Manatee by its flippers, 

 which have no nails, and by some other peculiarities of structure 

 which need not be mentioned here. AVe will, however, remark 

 that the two external incisor teeth of the upper jaw are elongated 

 into a sort of tusk. The habits of the Duyong are analogous to 

 those of the Manatee. Two species are kno'ma, one of which 

 {HaUcore Btii/oiuf) inhabits the Malaj'an seas chiefly, but is also 

 met with on the west coast of Ceylon, in the backwaters of the 

 Concan along the coast of Malabar, and occasionally on the shores 

 of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal ; the other {H. 

 atisfralis) inhabits the shores of the northern part of Australia. 

 Their flesh is held in high estimation, and the Australian Duyong 

 is now eagerljr hunted for the sake of the oil which it yields, to 

 which the same medicinal virtues are attributed as to that derived 

 from the livers of Cod-fish. 



