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Show 382 MR. R. COLLETT ON THE GREY SEAL. [Mar. 1, (in which category must be reckoned all those existing from the Throndhjems-fjord to Christiansund, lat. 64°-63° N.) scarcely exceeds five or six hundred ; and of this number it is probably only the full-grown ones that frequent the islands in the breeding-season. The number of Seals was at one time much greater; but the persecutions they are subject to during the summer in the outlying districts, and especially on the islands along the Romsdal coast, has caused an apparent diminution in the number of the breeders. The greater part give birth to their young in the last week of September, most usually on the 29th or 30th, or the 1st of October- some a few days earlier and some later, but never after the middle of October. The Seals probably begin to breed at the age of four years, or at the earliest three years, and give birth to only one young one annually. The young Seal at its birth is covered with a wool-like covering, which falls off after the lapse of a fortnight. The outermost islets and rocks are chosen for breeding-places, which are mostly rather small, though as a rule large enough not to be washed over by the waves. If the wreather be stormy immediately preceding the time of giving birth, the female always chooses one of the larger rocks, and generally places her young one above the highest water-mark, and then takes up her position on the highest part of the rock. If, on the other hand, the weather be unusually fine, she is often tempted to place her young one on such a low-lying rock that, if the weather be stormy whilst it is still in a weak condition, it is often washed away and perishes. B. TJie First Stage of the Young. "Whilst the navel-string yet remains the pup wears a yellowish-white coat, which, however, loses its colour in the course of the following days, and assumes about the same hue as the skin of the Polar Bear. After the lapse of from seven to ten days dark hairs begin to appear on the tips of the snout and feet; they are first apparent on the great toes of the fore feet. The colour afterwards increases in intensity; and after the lapse of three weeks the young one has entirely lost its woolly hair. The colour of the new dress differs from that of the old Seals ; but there is a great variety in its colour among different individuals. Some are light with large dark patches, others are almost wholly dark green, whilst others again are almost black, though the belly is almost always lighter in colour than the back. This variation of colour remains during a great part of the growth ; and it is only when they are fully grown that they become more uniform in this respect. The pups pass the first three weeks of their life on land, until they have shed their woolly coat, often on exactly the same spot where they have been born, and pass their time exclusively in receiving nourishment from the mother and in sleeping. During this period of their lives they are by no means so strictly confined to the dry place of rest as is the case with the Harp Seal, which, so far |