RISSO'S GRAMPUS IN THE SOLWAY FIRTH 5 



Dentition, etc. — The sides and front of tongue were fringed by a 

 row of upright papillae of rather horny consistency. No teeth in 

 upper jaw. No teeth visible in lower jaws, but on feeling the left 

 under jaw very carefully with the fingers two hard spots were felt. 

 On cutting into them, these hard spots were found to conceal a 

 couple of small teeth, and behind them another tooth was also dis- 

 covered embedded in the gums. The other under jaw was not cut 

 into. 



Appeara?ice of Head. — Lips very thick and fleshy, but no depres- 

 sion between the snout and lips such as has sometimes been described 

 as seen in other specimens of this Grampus. The great swelling 

 lumps on each upper cheek, continuing down to and including the 

 lips, was an extremely conspicuous feature, and gave one the strong 

 impression that the swollen appearance was the result of injury or 

 disease. Snout rounded in upper jaw ; much pointed in lower jaw. 



Skin. — The whole skin smooth and shining, transparent looking 

 in some lights. Very soft and velvety to the touch, the outermost 

 cuticle easily abraded or rubbed off. The skin was easily lifted in 

 little folds betwixt finger and thumb. 



There is not much more to say about the Carsethorn 

 specimen of this rare Cetacean, except that I was glad to be 

 the medium of securing its skeleton for the Museum of 

 Science and Art, Edinburgh. A gentleman resident in the 

 village who was present when the bones were divested of 

 their flesh preparatory to being despatched to Edinburgh, 

 and who examined the stomach, informs me it was quite 

 empty. The same friend also had the curiosity, not to say 

 temerity, to cut off a suitable piece of the flesh and have it 

 cooked. He tells me " it was dark in colour and tasted not 

 unlike the flesh of a hare, or between that and beefsteak. 

 It was a little peculiar in flavour, but not unpleasant." The 

 blubber produced a little over six gallons of good oil, which 

 is used in the same way, and for the same purposes, as the 

 fishermen and others in this neighbourhood use porpoise oil. 



Whether the two specimens of Risso's Grampus described 

 in the foregoing pages entered the Solway in company can 

 only be a matter of conjecture. I have been unable to hear 

 of any of our whammle-nct men who noticed such animals 

 in the Firth before their capture, and the fishermen in 

 question arc distributed over the comparatively narrow 

 limits of the Solway at every tide. One thing seems very 

 certain to me that any such Cetaceans once passing inside 



