The Washington times., 1919-05-11

sician. A series Of buttons rugged up to
bells present somewhat the appearance Of
the manual Of a piano In this number he
actually picks out the notes Of a musical
piece, nodding HIS head when he presses
the right one and growing softly to him
self If he by any chance plays the wrong
note. He really seems pleased at his
capability, and instinetively knows when
he is not giving the proper performance.
"As to the speed Of the sea-lion under
water" said Trainer Huling, 81 am of the
opinion that for short distances he can
swim almost as fast as a pOrpOise. He
uses much the same style, travelling
short distance under the water and then
coming up for air, to descend again i'm
mediately. Considering the average speed
OF a Submarine under water TO be about
twelve to fourteen miles an hour, it APP
pears 10 me that the fullgrOwn sea-liOn
can easily catch and pass a submarine If
within reasonable distance Of the vessel at
the start. I do not believe that he main
tain this rate of speed over a stretch or
hours, but for short distances his speed Is
fully equal to this rate.
"The sea-lion is not a deep-sea animal.
This is shown by the natural habitat OF
this species. They are found mostly in
shallow water, where they can come up on
q pile Of rocks to sun themselves and
sleep. OF course it is sometimes neces-
sary for them to descend to the depths in
search of food. but inasmuch as five min
utes is the longest time they can stay
under water, it is unlikely that they are
in the habit of going far below the surface
except when very hungry"
While the sea-lion belongs to the seal
family, there are important distinctions
between the frst-named animal and the
fur-seaL The sea-liOn has distinct external
ears, while the fur-seal has only holes in
his head for hearing. The sea-lion has
thick hair, but not fur like the fur-seal
The sea-lion's hind 1ippers can be turned
forward for walking. and, therefore, it has
much better powers Of movement on land
than the seal, whose hind flippers are
turned backward and can hardly be used
except for swimming The fur-seal moves
on land by a jumping process. The sea-
lion has sharper nose than the seal and
a short, sharp, dOg-like bark quite distinc-
tive among sea creatures.
The sea-lion Is so called because it has
a small name about it's neck, which, how
ever, only becomes noticeable when the
animal is quite dry.
A very interesting fact about the seals
is that they are all fond of music. In
wild state they will always come up and
listen to a man who is playing music
They have an extra development of the
transparent covering of the eye, which en-
ables them to see much better under water
than the purely land animals.
The degree of intelligence of every ami
nal appears to depend largely on the pos
session of a natural equipment adapted to
winning the battle of life.
Looked at from this point of view, the
sea-lion is splendidly equipped by nature,
for he has a long, wonderfully flexible
neck, with jaws fitted with sharp teeth for
seiZing things. The animal has an excep-
tionally large brain for its size
Surely the under-sea pirates must have
despaired when they found that even the
sea animals were fighting against them.