Page:Transactions NZ Institute Volume 15.djvu/599

Rh I was not able to observe much of this animal's habits during the few days I spent on the island. I usually saw them lying asleep in groups on the shingle, or in the long tussock near the beach. I sometimes saw them gambolling in the shallow water among the kelp, and occasionally I noticed them fighting in a half-hearted sort of way. The scarred hides and broken tusks of the old males, however, show that they sometimes have savage encounters. In fighting they rear themselves against each other and try to seize their opponent with their large canines. These are the only teeth they could use for such a purpose, as the others barely pierce the gum. They are never to be seen feeding on the island, and duriug the breeding season live on their own fat. Little or nothing in the way of food is ever found in their stomachs, but these and the intestines are infested with parasitic worms.

The island is never entirely deserted by the sea-elephants, but by far the greatest number are to be found after October, when they come up to calve.

The period of gestation is said to be eleven months.

The cows, I was told by the sealers, suckle their young for three weeks, and then wean them by deserting them for a time. Whether this be the case or not I cannot say, but I certainly often saw very young animals lying on the beach apart from the adults.

The sealers say that a bull is not worth killing for its blubber till it is three years old.

The tongue of these animals when well cooked is excellent eating.

No fur seals are found on Macquarie Island, though they are so common on the Auckland group.

The only other seal is the Stenorhynchus leptonyx, or sea-leopard, the ordinary spotted seal of our coasts.

It is a great contrast to the sluggish sea-elephant, and is the terror of the penguins.



"National health is national wealth," has become a firmly fixed article of belief among all modern thinkers. Much has been written upon the resources of New Zealand: authors have described in glowing words its boundless mineral wealth, and the luxuriant fertility of its rich soil. A few have touched upon the healthiness of the climate, but these latter have