SEALS. 493 



He also makes some curious and mythical statements about this 

 skin, for he remarks that even when it is separated from the body it 

 retains a certain sympathy with the sea, and at the ebb of the tide 

 the hair on it always rises upright. Fortunately this is not so, or 

 in the places where people wear coats made of this fur, they 

 would when near the sea look like ruffled tom-cats whenever the 

 tide ran out. Another one of Pliny's statements is that the right 

 fin of this animal has a certain soporiferous influence, so that if 

 it is placed under the head it induces sleep. 



The beautifully dense far so coveted by young ladies, and in con- 

 sequence the cause of so many domestic heartburns and longings, is 

 taken from a totally distinct species of the amphibious carnivora, 

 for it is only found on the animals classified in the subdivision of 

 the eared-seals {Otaria), which are known as fur-seals or sea- 

 bears, which it will now be in order to describe somewhat more 

 fully. 



