370 COMMON SEAL, Class I. 



prey beneath the water, and in case they are 

 devouring any very oily fish, the place is known 

 by a certain smoothness of the waves im- 

 mediately above. The power of oil in stilling 

 the waves excited by a storm, is mentioned by 

 Pliny ; the moderns have made the experiment 

 with success,* and by that made one advance 

 towards eradicating the vulgar prejudices against 

 • that great and elegant writer. 



We must acknowledge the obligations we 

 were under to the Rev. Mr. Warrington oiDinas, 

 in Caernarvonshire, for several learned commu- 

 nications, but in particular for the natural 

 history of this animal, which we shall give the 

 public in his own words. 

 Manners. < Xhe seals are natives of our coasts, and are 

 ' found most, frequently between Llyn in Caer- 

 1 narwnshire, and the northern parts of Angle-* 

 i sey ; they are seen often towards Carreg y 

 1 moelrhon, to the west of Bai*dsey, or Ynys 

 1 Enlli ; and the Skerries, commonly called in 

 ' the British language Ynys y moclrhoniad, or 

 ' seal island. The Latin name of this amphi- 

 ' bious animal is Phoca;\ the vulgar name is 



* Phi}. Trans. 1774- p. 445. 



f Doctor Charleton derives the word yjovr/j ex j^oaxv}, bcatu 

 quern edit : vide Exercitationes de dif. An. pise. p. 48. But I 

 do not find any authority for his opinion. 



