xl 
INTRODUCTION. 
menced setting nets on the shoals frequented by the Dugong, and for a time they answered the purpose ; but the 
men engaged got careless, the nets were torn and destroyed by sharks and porpesses, and the affair fell to the 
ground. 
“ The oil, owing to its medicinal qualities, is in considerable demand, and very many persons have derived 
considerable benefit from its use ; it is preferred to cod-liver oil, as being less disagreeable to the palate and more 
easily retained in the stomach. It is white and almost tasteless, and is occasionally used for frying fish. The 
quantity varies, according to the condition of the animal, from three to ten gallons. The meat is very good, is in 
flavour between beef and pork, and when salted is much like bacon. 
“ The head, back, sides, and tail are dark broccoli-brown ; the belly and under part of the flippers light 
broccoli-brown, according to Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours.” 
