1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
293 
The Sea-Otter. 
Our North-west coast produces several fur¬ 
bearing auimals, and among the most valuable 
is the Sea-Otter (Enhydra marina ), an animal 
which, while it is classed with the Otters, has 
many of the characters of the Seal. It is thus 
described by Baird: 
“ The head is short 
and very broad; the 
nose obtuse, with a 
naked muffle, and 
with three rows of 
stiff, horny bristles. 
The digits of the 
fore-feet are very 
short and firmly 
bound up in a 
thickened mem¬ 
brane, which on the 
palmar surface is 
naked and granular. 
The hand is divided 
into four lobes, rep¬ 
resenting the digits, 
excepting the third 
and fourth, which 
are bound togeth¬ 
er and bear two 
claws above. The 
hind-feet have the 
outer toes longest, 
the rest descending 
from the fifth to the 
first; the under surface hairy, except under the 
balls of the toes. The hind-feet are directed 
much further backwards than in the common 
Otters, in this respect resembling the Seals, 
except that in the latter the liind-feet are cres¬ 
centic in shape, owing to the middle toes being 
shorter than the lateral.” The animal is about 
6 feet long, and when fully adult is of a jet- 
black color. Sea-Otters were formerly abund¬ 
ant upon the coast of California, and are oc¬ 
casional met with 
as far South as Mon¬ 
terey, but they are 
now only plentiful 
much further North, 
in what was former¬ 
ly the Russian Pos¬ 
sessions, and now 
our Territory of 
Alaska. The best 
skins have been sold 
as high as $100 each, 
and are greatly 
prized by the wealthy 
Chinese. The fur on 
a first-class skin is 
so dense that when 
strongly blown up¬ 
on, the hairs cannot 
be sufficiently sepa¬ 
rated to allow the 
least portion of naked 
skin to be seen. The 
Russians derived a 
large revenue from 
the sale of these skins, 
but it is said that the animals appear upon the 
coast in much smaller numbers than formerly. 
- - -- «-• -- 
The White Whale, or Beluga. 
What is "called the White Whale, though it 
belongs to the whale order, is placed in that 
subdivision of it which includes the Dolphin, 
Sea-Unicorn, the Porpoise, and the Grampus. 
They differ from the Right and Sperm whales 
in many points; notably in having a propor¬ 
tionally smaller head, and in having teeth in 
both jaws. The White Whale (Ddphinus leu- 
cus , or Beluga borealis, of some authors), is very 
abundant in the Arctic ocean, and is frequently 
found much further South. It is not rare in 
sea-ottee.—( Enhydra marina.) 
the St. Lawrence, ascending the river as far as 
Quebec. It is from ten to twenty feet in length; 
of a brownish color when young, but wdien full- 
grown, is nearly pure white. The tail is three 
feet broad and very powerful; by its means the 
animal is able to dart with great rapidity, and it 
is remarkably agile for so large an animal. 
These whales, or white-fish, as the whalers call 
them, follow the ships in large herds, showing 
the greatest boldness, as if conscious of their 
of the Arctic regions, who depend upon them 
for a large share of their food. Its habit of as¬ 
cending rivers allows the Beluga to be caught 
with comparative ease. When the animal is 
found to have gone up a river or inlet, a strong 
net is stretched from bank to bank and chase 
is given in boats. The animal endeavors to es¬ 
cape to the sea, but 
its progress is stop¬ 
ped by the nets, 
where there are 
other assailants ly¬ 
ing in wait for it, 
ready to despatch it 
by means of spears 
and other weapons. 
The skin of the 
Beluga, when tan¬ 
ned,makes a soft but 
remarkably strong 
leather. The flesh 
is highly prized as 
an article of food, 
though it is too oily 
to be acceptable to 
palates unaccustom¬ 
ed to Arctic fare. 
The oil is valuable 
for burning, the 
sinews are used as 
thread, and some of 
the internal mem¬ 
branes serve as a 
substitute for win¬ 
dow glass. The “living whales” which figured so 
largely among the attractions of Barnum’s 
Museum, were of this species. One, which was 
some time ago kept in an Aquarial establish¬ 
ment in Boston, became tame enough to be har¬ 
nessed and draw a light boat containing a young 
lady around the large tank in which it was kept. 
WHITE WHALE, OE BELUGA. 
ability to escape pursuit. Their appearance as 
they tumble about, is described as very striking, 
their white bodies appearing in sparkling con¬ 
trast with the dark water. Being so active, 
these ■animals are but seldom caught by the 
whalers, as the small amount of oil they yield 
is not sufficient to compensate for the time 
and trouble required in the capture. They are, 
however, of great importance to the inhabitants 
After Haying.— It lias come at last. The 
words have often been heard and some promises 
have been made to 
the boys, that were 
to be fulfilled at this 
date. The bay is 
harvested, aud they 
want to go fishing, 
or to the beach, or to 
a picnic, or fair. By 
all means let them 
go and Lave a good 
time; and let your 
blessing go with 
them, if you do not 
go yourself. Then 
you promised your¬ 
self if there ever 
came another dry 
time, you would get 
at least a hundred 
cords of peat out of 
the pond hole, that 
is not dry more than 
one month in the 
year. See that the 
• promise is fulfilled 
to the letter. You 
can no more afford to cheat yourself out of 
a good thing than the boys. You have done 
using the reaper, the mower, the horse-rake, 
and tedder. Do not let them lie around in the 
field or under the shed, but put them carefully 
in the loft where they are to remain until next 
season. Put them up and oil them, ready for 
use to morrow. Then top-dressing your mead¬ 
ows and your pastures is in order. And the 
