_This animal is found on almost all the northern shores of Britain; and is generally from four to six feet in length. Its colour varies, being dusky, whitish, grey, black, or spotted._ Seals are eagerly pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the northern countries of Europe. They are found in hollow rocks or caverns near the sea, and are killed with guns, clubs, or spears. The usual season for hunting them is during the months of October and November. The _flesh_ of seals is much esteemed by the Greenlanders; and their _skins_ are extremely serviceable. These are converted into clothing; into coverings for beds, houses, and boats; and into thongs, and straps of every description. The Americans fill them with air and make a kind of rafts of them. The _fat_ yields a clear and much sweeter oil than that obtained from whales, and is used by the Greenlanders in their lamps, and frequently also with their food. The _fibres_ of the tendons are said to be a stronger and better substance for sewing with than either thread or silk. Before the introduction of iron the _bones_ of seals were used for the points of weapons both for chase and war. The _skins of the entrails_ are employed instead of glass in windows; and, sewed together, are formed into shirts and other under parts of dress. When the long and coarse hair of the seal is pulled off, a fine, short, silky, and somewhat fawn-coloured down is left, which in this country is a fashionable _fur_ for ornamenting ladies' dresses. This fur woven with silk is also manufactured into shawls, which are of extremely soft and delicate texture. Seal _skins_, when tanned and properly dressed, are converted into a valuable leather for shoes and other uses. 24. _The LEONINE SEAL, or SEA LION_ (Phoca jubata) _is a marine quadruped which inhabits the shores of Kamschatka and Greenland, is sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and is distinguished by the male having its neck covered with a mane._ The great quantity of oil which is yielded by these seals is the cause of their being pursued and killed, by the inhabitants of all countries on the shores of which they are found. The _skins_ of the younger animals are made, in Greenland, into garments for women; and those of the old ones are used for beds. When the latter are freed from the hair, they are applied as coverings for boats and houses. They are also sometimes sewed together as bags to contain provision, and for other uses. The _skins of the intestines_ are used for the same purposes as those of the common seal; and the _teeth_ are adapted for the points of arrows and spears. There are numerous other species of seals, all of which are in some respects useful to mankind, and chiefly for the purposes which have been above enumerated. 25. _The DOG_ (Canis familiaris) _is an animal characterized by Linnæus as having the tail recurved, and bent towards the left side of the body._