Notes arid Events.

Manawatu Herald, 9 October 1894, Page 3

Notes arid Events.

Seals are divided ititci ltidrij' groups, all having terribly long latin definitions which, to print, would break down the Health and constitution of the most robust of compositors; not mentioning good natured carter's 1 aiid aifiate'riv show'rrien;

An authority upon the subject states? that seal stands for a hair seal* ft fuf-sgal* and an eared-seal. Seals are regarded as caroivdrotis, modified for aquatia life. The monkseal lives in the Mediterranean and Neighbouring Atlantic j another seal is found between the tropics in Central America and West Indian waters ; another inhabits the inland waters of the Caspian, Aral, and Baikal. But with few exceptions all seals are maritime and also extratropical.

There is the ordinary sea-calf, the harbour seal common in British waters. There U the Greenland seal, or harp seal or saddleback, peculiarly coloured, and object of the chase. The ringed seal or floe rat of Greenland is a smaller species. There is the great bearded or squareflippered seal of Greenland. A great grey seal is found on both coasts of the" North Atlantic. There is the banded seal oi* ribbon-seai. me crested or bladder-nosed seal.

The largest seal is the sea-ele-phant of southern seas. Then there are sea leopards, sea«lions and seabears, so that the beach may yet deliver to our wondering gaze many other species to that found by Mr Collins the otner day, and which may perhaps be better appreciated in Palmerston than the last one was.

Sealer, by the bye, does not necessarily mean one who hunts seals, as this is the name a functionary in the United States who examines and tests weights and measures and sets a stamp upon them, is known by.

Seals get interesting. There is a seal-pipe, but ifc has nothing to do with a seal, being what is known as a dip-pipe. Seals have been shown to an admiring public with a pipe in their mouths, bnfc we tlo not think they ever drew smoke, though the spectacle did draw people — to see them.

The place where many seals breed together is called a seal-rookery. Why ? Ask something easier.