CONCLUSIONS. Ba | 
straight line, quite stiff, even in swimming. Also it has the power 
to bend its neck, trunk and tail dorso-ventrally into numerous 
“bunches”, unless it is not the whole mass of its body, but only 
the layer of muscles, bacon and its skin, which it is able to bend 
in such a manner, for it is observed lying perfectly still, showing, 
however, numerous bunches (34, 42, 61, 64, 67, 69, 106 4, 
154). In this condition it may even swim (60, 63). These bunches 
according to its body-length, may be of the size of a barrel (34), 
or from six to seven feet from each other, and from three to four 
feet high (154, fig. 50). On some occasions it gave the impression 
of a creature crooking up its back to sun itself (137), for there 
was no appearance of undulation; when the lumps sunk, other 
lumps did not rise in the intervals between them (137). Twice it 
is observed only with its head and its tail above water, the body 
slightly under (135, 162), and once casting itself backwards, and 
in doing so, its tail rose high above the water (5) so that the 
animal was bent dorsally in the form of an U or horse-shoe (fig. 19). 
Its lateral flexibility is also astonishing. In turning it bends its 
body quite in the form of a horse-shoe, the head nearly touching 
its tail end (39, 41, 44); in turning twice immediately after each 
other or in playing, its body is bent in the form of the letter S 
(63, fig. 37, fig. 38). Also it may play im circles (39). Once, 
seized by a spermwhale, evidently in its trunk, it wound itself 
laterally round the head and upperjaw of its attacker (144). Its 
tail is said to lash the water (151? 158), and to wind itself up, 
and to rest for a moment on a part of the trunk (106 a). In short 
it is as limber and active as an eel (44). 
Provided, as sea-lions are, with rather a thick layer of bacon under 
its skin, the animal, when it bends its body in the form of a 
horse-shoe, either laterally or dorsally, naturally shows in the con- 
cave side of the curve, wrinkles or folds (5) in its skin. When tts 
head is held nearly at right angles with the neck, the skm under 
the chin is contracted into folds, which led to the description that 
the animal had some “gills” (read “gill-splits’, 56). When its neck 
is a little contracted, it may happen that three folds of the skin 
encircle the neck, which when held so for some time, and exposed 
to the sun, dry on their highest part, and when stretched again, 
will show “three yellow collars’ (71). It may also be that “at 
about six feet from the jaws there is a protuberance on its back 
like a small watercask’” (126), or that “a kind of scroll, or tuft 
of loose skin, encircles the neck about two feet from the head” (131). 
