148 The Scottish Naturalist. 



more exposed in the middle of the palate than is usually the 

 case in the common porpoise. There are only two foramina on 

 the flat part of the front of the head, one on each side of the 

 nasal openings. The brain was in bulk perhaps rather under 

 than above the average in the porpoise. It weighed when ex- 

 tracted by the occipital foramen i6j4 oz. 



It is certainly not easy to understand how such a large mass 

 of highly convoluted brain as exists in this and some of the other 

 toothed whales should be necessary in the economy of these 

 animals. In Professor Huxley's * reply to Mr Wallace's t state- 

 ment " That savage man in his large and well-developed brain 

 possesses an organ quite disproportionate to his actual require- 

 ments" he remarks, That this objection applies quite as strongly 

 to the lower animals. The brain of a porpoise is quite wonder- 

 ful for its mass, and for the development of the cerebral convolu- 

 tions, and yet, since we have ceased to credit the story of Arion, 

 it is hard to believe that porpoises are much troubled with intel- 

 lect. Nevertheless, it is difficult to see how these animals, any 

 more than savage man, should have such large brains, if they 

 are not the result of the operation of the law or force that 

 developes all the other bodily organs according to the increased 

 functions, which the changing environment of the animals has 

 rendered imperative in order that they may maintain their ex- 

 istence. Still it must be confessed that there is not much 

 known regarding the intellectual attainments of the porpoise, or 

 any of its large brained congeners. It seems evident, however, 

 that an animal which is compelled to come to the surface of 

 the water to breathe every 12 or 14 seconds must be placed at 

 considerable disadvantage in the pursuit of its prey. ' In the 

 case of the salmon, it appears almost inexplicable how it could 

 possibly overtake any of these fishes, considering the rapid rate 

 at which they go through the water, unless its movements in 

 pursuit of them were guided by superior intelligence. 



That the porpoise and a number of the other toothed whales kill 

 salmon is beyond doubt, and the havoc they sometimes make 

 amongst these fishes is something astonishing. For instance, 

 Mr Halliday, in his evidence given before Mr Home Drum- 

 mond's committee in 1835, states that three cwt. of salmon 



* Critiques and Addresses. f On Natural Selection. 



