232 
ON  SOME  SPECIMENS  OF  DUGONG  OIL. 
weather,  may  small  troops  be  seen  feeding  below  the  surface, 
and  every  now  and  then  rising  to  take  breath.  The  position  of 
the  mouth,  the  muscular  powers  and  mobility  of  the  lips,  garnish- 
ed with  wiry  bristles,  and  the  short  incisor  tusks  of  the  upper 
jaw,  enable  these  animals  to  seize  and  drag  up  the  long  fronds 
of  sub-aquatic  vegetables,  which  constitute  their  nournishment. 
The  mutual  affection  of  the  male  and  female  is  very  great,  and 
the  latter  is  devoted  to  her  offspring.  If  a  dugong  be  killed,  the 
survivor  of  the  pair,  careless  of  danger,  follows  after  the  boat 
carrying  the  body,  impelled  by  an  overmastering  passion,  and 
thus  often  shares  the  fate  of  its  partner  ;  indeed,  if  one  be  taken 
the  other  is  an  easy  prize." 
It  is  taken  byMalays  and  also  by  the  aborigines  of  Moreton 
Bay  for  the  sake  of  its  flesh,  which  is  said  to  be  very  delicate 
and  palatable,  and  to  resemble  young  beef.  The  natives  of 
Australia  also  use  the  oil  for  burning.  Mr.  Archer,  who  was 
at  Moreton  Bay  before  the  oil  was  used  as  a  medicine,  tells  me 
that  the  natives  waited  until  a  shoal  got  into  a  shallow  water, 
and  then  surrounded  and  drove  them  into  large  nets.  The  oil 
was  obtained  by  skinning  the  fish  and  then  boiling  down  the 
"  speck."  Not  much  was  obtained,  the  annual  produce  being 
estimated  at  about  200  gallons.  Mr.  Archer  adds  that,  when 
opened,  the  stomach  of  the  animal  was  always  found  full  of  sea- 
weeds and  live  worms, 
Now  that  a  large  demand  for  the  oil  has  sprung  up,  a  fishery 
has  been  organised,  and  the  dugong  has  been  taken  in  great 
numbers,  but  still  not  sufficient  to  supply  the  amount  of  oil  in 
requisition  ;  and  the  deficiency  would  appear  to  be  made  up  from 
an  altogether  different  source. 
But  small  quantities  of  what  is  called  dugong  oil  have  arrived 
in  England,  and  I  have  only  had  the  opportunity  of  examining 
three  specimens.  One  was  kindly  given  to  me  by  Dr.  Letheby, 
who  received  it  some  years  ago,  before  the  oil  was  in  repute. 
Another,  also  given  to  me  by  Dr.  Letheby,  was,  I  believe,  re- 
ceived at  the  Comsumption  Hospital  a  few  mouths  ago.  The 
third  was  imported  expressly  for  me  by  Messrs.  Johnson  and 
Archer,  Australian  merchants.  The  price  paid  in  Australia 
for  a  bottle  containing  about  a  pound  and  a  quarter  was  12s.  6d. 
All  these  specimens  are  solid  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the 
