FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 361 
the indiscriminate massacre which takes place in order 
to supply blubber, as well as hides, for the purposes 
indicated. Old and young, females with young, are 
slaughtered alike, and should this continue, these seals, 
like the Antarctic Fur Seals at the beginning of the 
century, will undoubtedly be quickly exterminated. 
In December all the seals were in bad condition, 
thinly blubbered, and grievously scarred, and it is note- 
worthy that the females appeared to be as freely scarred 
as the males. During January their condition improved, 
and by February they were heavily blubbered and free 
of scars. The males were apparently as numerous as 
the females, but I made no definite statistics. Loving 
the sun, they lie on the pack all day digesting their 
meal of the previous night, which had consisted of fish 
or small crustaceans, or both ; the penguin is also occa- 
sionally the victim of the Sea Leopard, and I have found 
stones in their stomachs. These stones are likely part 
of the geological collection which the penguins are accus- 
tomed to carry about with them. Nematode worms were 
almost invariably present in the stomachs. 
All the seals were obtained from the pack-ice, in the 
bluest and clearest water ; the Sea Leopard was on the 
outermost streams of the ice, and was most frequently 
found singly, but sometimes in pairs or threes on one 
piece of ice. Of Weddell's False Sea Leopards, we on 
board the Balaena only saw about four altogether, and 
these singly ; Dr. Donald, however, met with greater 
numbers. Two were quite young, and one of these we 
attempted to bring on board alive, but failed. 
2 A 
