178 HOUND-TAILED MANAT.!* 
bellied ; and often great fragments fly off before it 
can be landed. “ I once saw * 3 says Dr. Grieve, 
some of the fishermen cut off the flesh from one of 
them while it was alive, w r hich all the while struck 
the water with such force with its paws, as entire- 
ly to tear off the skin / 3 
The size is enormous, some of them being 
twenty-eight feet long, and weighing so much as 
eight thousand pounds. They are exceedingly vo- 
racious, and feed on the different species of fuci 
that grow in the sea, and arc driven to the shore* 
When filled they fall asleep on their backs. 
During their meals, they are so intent on their food* 
that any one may go among them, and select out 
one of their number. Their back and sides are 
generally above water. 
The head is small. The lips are double ; and, 
near the junction of the two jaws, the mouth is 
filled with white tubular bristles, which pre- 
vent the food from running out with the water, 
and also serve for cutting teeth, to divide the 
strong roots of the sea-plants. Two flat white 
bones with undulated surfaces, one in each jaw, 
supply the place of grinders. The eyes are extreme- 
ly small, as are also the orifices of the ears. The 
tail is thick and strong ; ending in a black, stiff 
fin. The skin is thick, hard, and black, and full 
of inequalities, like the bark of oak ; beneath it 
there is thick blubber. 
The flesh is coarser than beef, and does not soob 
putrify. The young ones taste like veal. 
Round-tailed manati. 
These animals are about six feet long ; and 
three or four in circumference, though some- 
times much more. They have a short thick neck, 
final! eyes, and thick lips ; are very thick about 
