Island of
Amsterdam. The seals, whose skins. are, thus an ;article of com-
I merce, are found here in greater numbers in the summer
than in-’ the: Winterywhen they gènérally keep in deep,-
water» and nndéEftMï rwee®, which,* îsfeelter them from
the indemfeney o f the weather, * In thë .summer months
t-heys come ashore; sometimes in droves of-.eight] hundred
©fra thousand; a ta time, ont of. which, about a hundred
are destrbyediithat. number beingias-many gsjfivemen
can skinoandipeg down to dry,das the course'Of* a day.
Jjittld :©f Aheooil, ■ which thèse animals might furnish, is
çolleêtëd;; for want; bfboasks totpOtoit in r part of .'the
bést is boiledji and serves those people inhteadiMbntteis
The seal Of Amsterdam is theAphocawrsina of Linnaeus.
The femalé Weighs} usually' from Seventy ; to one htm*
dred. and twenty pounds, and is from three to five feet
in .length ; but the male -is considerably larger. : In gé-
neml they.< are- not shyi sometimes they plunge into
the water instantly upon any ones-'approach; but, at
other Aimesÿ remain steadily on the mokâ» bark, aiwfrear
thmBsely®s; up >in a: menacing iposture ; jbuftithe: blöw
o f a stick upén Ahë nose seemed* snjBS:eiéntuto. îdispatch
them. Most ; of i those which come ■ ashore. | are females»
m the proportionü©f. more, than thirty-to one male.
W-heth«r|/ itsthose-animals»inature has fixed onl such an
apparent disproportion between the two sexes, or whether,
whiléi the.females have occasion >to seek the shore,
the males contiriue in the deep, has not hitherto been
m m 1
ascefthittefel by In fflBpwsnwrap
seasOU great- numMrs^df licfas ^pMcSHvonina)', some
eighteend^tAfofigffeaWl''out ®f the'fef4pon'the "dau^
way, making% •■prodigiSSt^- hoWlilig^hoiS^^'dEyen ttfb
billow' 'm'ourhful^f^of^K^^ea^Alijliayfwd ^distinctly
heard1 at ihe-'-SWhe^age^ wMchfs I a-mile distant from'the
shore. It i.4 thought 'thaf^fodth and sea,iibn#*'a!ih‘
so'Mewhat dess' nurhetbuS3h1er^tof(lat$j$since the! pla'dfe
has been-frequented ^by-ye^dls^for fhd phfpcfse^of getf Mg
theh-'*'sfein«i/'i *WhaldsT'l?bomid this''eolM''lft31 the
winter^ea^bh'; In the' StifrifeerJ4h-dy5 gl» 'AlMo1 IJee^W’
W^tory^andM a'faHKfe'r dfMthi^e¥rOTnl8t?he fiffd J
1 ThiMiJve W"b^Hftcm^^bwdffl^‘ofrWWihh1*ffie1 s'dal1-
iafthei^had^M^eetM^a^udHhm^'was rtesifly i’h fhfefdfih
of-an elllp$67sl On-fhd' sid'd adja'ce'rit to they|a,®itsi b&iik
whs lOW^dmpOSddtof -Vouhded^tonds^ladd 'divided in
the middld**b^-a’shalldw commmfcanMi 'With tlll'^&e#,'
o f Jrecdnt daite,' as Vhh wiaMingf a* 5Dilt^]T;ddinte3fidfeH
Who visi-tod'- this plate-in r^fffeHhat* '&^rectfee&
wisOho’de/fthe inteflSediat'es‘feaU‘sdWat^'Ebeihg” ht'‘-l!htft
time, entir'e, and arleaSthffe'’^e*ttMi|'hiSbo'vdithi ftiif&oe
of! the^Sea.-J 1 Gl'o’SeJ f 6
the lind oti ealcb9^id^ri^Ss^Sudddtfl^ froift" Ah^ hhsOtf;
and is^oritibued rotfhd'ftfo thnhS’ight* ’of, af^lea^'se^bn
hundred feet h y ’%igon'(®e'irfeSli'hdm:dasnrdhidtit,.!''-' At
th^Mtae timedt^W A:fef)yMWfdfihw%ig^%iftK tfte
hot^iAii' of 'about' ‘sixty-fi'V^ ddgifeies;u-'T h t f'dftgel-P cfia-
Island ot
Amsterdam.