Pinnipedia. MAMMALIA. Pinnipedia. 
Ixvii 
Hall witnessed this “talk” with a Seal. Koojesse 
laid upon the ice, and crawled as near as was pru- 
dent towards the Seal. As they recognized each 
other, Koo’ began pawing the ice with Ids riglit liand 
and foot, while he uttered his “ Seal talk.” At this, 
the Seal rose and shook his “flippers ” both fore and 
aft, seemingly in imitation of Koo’, and rolled over 
in apparent delight. Now it dropped its head, evi- 
dently in “cat-nap.” Then Koojesse hitched along 
still nearer, and so on, the intervals of sleep or re- 
pose, and alertness, being quite regular, until the 
creature was within striking distance of the spear. 
In winter, the Seal is driven to considerable in- 
genuity to provide its home comforts ; especially is 
the female so situated. In addition to the usual 
hole kept open for its necessary breathing place, the 
female constructs a dome under the snow, just over 
the hole; this is merely an excavation around the 
external surface of the opening in the ice, the snow 
at that time supposed to be of considerable depth. 
The snow is pulled down into the hole and cast into 
the water. A shelf is left around the borders of the 
air-hole, on which the young are born. Here they 
are nursed and tended until able to dive into the 
cold, dark seas to search for their own substance. 
The igloo, as this Seal retreat is called by the na- 
tives, is quite secure from intrusion, unless the snow 
proves too light in quantity; the Bears and other Arctic 
Carnivora then succeed in preying upon the young. 
The Eskimos Dogs are often very successful in this 
hunting, or, rather, there are some of their Dogs that 
prove especially expert in it, and those animals are 
prized very highly, and are carefully ti'ained to make 
the most of it ; for the Dogs will not hunt for their 
own prey. 
Seals are, as a group, very much alike in their diet, 
living on the same kinds of food ; the most prom- 
inent are various species of Crustacea, which swarm 
in the northern seas. They are generally harmless, 
and susceptible of much cultivation. The common 
Phoca vitulina is often tamed, and proves an inter- 
esting and intelligent pet. The Bladder-nose, or 
Crested Seal, is an exception ; it is reputed to be very 
combative. When approached, he inflates his qrest 
and gives battle at once, not deigning to retire, and, 
indeed, often giving chase to his human enemy. 
The anatomy of the Seal is peculiar in some respects. 
While in carnivorous animals generally the intestine 
is very short, in the Seal it is exceedingly extend- 
ed, in some instances measuring fifty and fifty-six 
feet in length. 'I’here was at one time a notion held 
by physiologists that the Seal’s habit of remaining 
beneath the water for so long a time, as it is known 
to do, was owing to structural differences in the 
heart and liver, &c. The foramen ovale of the heart 
was found in a few cases to be open, and other struc- 
tural conditions were commented on with reference 
to this habit. It is now thought, by later observers, 
that the cause is entirely physiological, and not 
structural ; this is hinted at in the example of sev- 
eral girls, who have exhibited their powers of sub- 
aqueous endurance in public. In one instance, the 
individual remained iiumersed fully three minutes. 
and a sister of the same person hag practiced the 
performance in the New York Aquarium, remaining 
below the surface over two minutes at one time. 
There is, then, no special structure for this purpose, 
but an adaptability, so to speak. The Seal is said 
to learn gradually to swim and to remain immersed. 
The Seal has an enormous quantity of blood, which 
must be taken into account in this matter. In the 
Narwhal and other Whales there is a very large plex- 
us, or network of blood-vessels, about the vertebral 
column ; this would seem to point to the explana- 
tion of their endurance under water. Seals are said 
to remain some twenty-five minutes immersed, but 
authors doubt it; five to eight is the ordinary time 
observed in the case of the common species. It is 
interesting to compare the skeleton of the Seal with 
those of other Mammals, especially through the 
various grades down to the Whale, where the hind 
limbs are entirely wanting. See Plate 34, fig. 114, 
vol. i. 
The Seal Fishery. 
The commercial importance of the Seal fishery is 
very considerable to several of the great powers 
among nations. The number of Seals taken yearly 
by the British and continental ships (principally 
Dutch, Norse and German), in the Greenland seas, 
average about 200,000. It is estimated that from 
eighty to one hundred Seals yield about a tun of oil ; 
this oil sells for !|150 per tun. The skins are valued 
at a dollar and a quarter each ; this, added to 
the preceding, exhibits an amount of nearly $300 
as the value of between eighty and one hundred 
Seals. It is thought that the Seal fishery must at 
no distant day materially decrease, and eventually 
come to a serious interruption. It is well known 
that before the introduction of mineral or vegetable 
oils, the Whale fisheries were quite at a standstill ; 
and that now the various cetaceans are notably in- 
creased in numbers. The south seas once produced 
an enormous number of Seals, many more than the 
north, and are now quite stripped of them. 
Fossil Extinct Pinnipedia. 
'I’he secondary formations of New Jersey, in which 
the green sand occurs, were supposed at one time to 
have furnished remains of a species of Whale and 
the tooth of a Seal. Authors differ in their estimate 
of the value of the determination in the latter case. 
Mr. Samuel R. Wetherill discovered the tooth in the 
green sand, about a mile and a half south-east of Bur- 
lington, N. J., associated witii numerous fossil shells 
and Ammonites. This interesting relic excited a 
great deal of interest at the time, and was examined 
by many scientific men. It has since been mislaid, 
and doubts have been expressed regarding its nature. 
It was referred to a living genus, which circumstance 
elicited some criticism, as no genus of JMammals has 
lived through so many cycles. This tooth was de- 
scribed by Dr. Leidy, in Froc. Acad. Nat. ScL, Phila., 
1853, under the name of the existing genus, Stenor- 
hynclius vetus, from a drawing by Mr. Conrad. In 
