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A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE WALRUS, MORSE, OR SEACOW. 
(Trichechus Rosmarus.) 
THIS very curious animal is nearly allied to the Seal, but 
is of much greater size, being frequently eighteen feet 
in length, and from ten to twelve feet in girth. The head 
is round, tiie eyes are small and brilliant, and the upper 
lip, which is enormously thick, is covered with pellucid 
bristles, as large as a straw. The nostrils are very large, 
and there are no external ears. The most remarkable part 
of the Walrus is, however, his two large tusks in the upper 
jaw ; they are inverted, the points nearly uniting, and 
they sometimes exceed twenty-four inches in length : the 
use which the animal makes of them is not easily ex- 
plained, unless they help him to climb up the rocks and 
mountains of ice among which he takes up his abode, as the 
parrot employs his beak to get upon his perch. The tusks 
of the W'airus are equal for durability and whiteness to 
those of the elephant, and, keeping their colour much 
longer, are preferred by dentists to any other substance 
for making artificial teeth. 
The Walrus is common in some of the northern seas, 
and often attacks a boat full of men. They are gregarious 
animals, and are often found in herds, sleeping and 
