MAMMALS 193 



The Malays and Chinese still use ambergris for suffusing 

 wines, but in the West its olfactory virtues alone dictate 

 the price, numerous grades being recognised, the highest 

 commanding about £5 per ounce. Dealing in this precious 

 product must be a gamble since in 1922 only 44 lbs. was 

 brought into the American market. This amount realised 

 11,000 dollars. Scores of Whales are annually killed and 

 searched without yielding a single grain of " floating 

 gold." 



Biologically ambergris is of interest since it consists 

 chiefly of the horny beaks of cuttlefish on which the Sperm 

 Whale largely feeds. Though much is known of its 

 chemical composition and properties, it is graded by the 

 expert much as a connoisseur grades wine — by general 

 appearance, bouquet, etc., rather than by any rigid scientific 

 standard. 



The Dolphins and Porpoises range in size from the 

 7 ft. long Common Dolphin (Delpbinus delphis) to the 

 30 ft. long Grampus or Killer (Orca gladiator). The 

 Porpoises are distinguished by their comparatively blunt 

 heads, whilst Dolphins usually have a distinct beak. All 

 travel in herds or schools. 



To the Common Porpoise (Pbocaena communis) we owe 

 much of our knowledge of Whale habits in general, since 

 Porpoises often entangle themselves in herring nets, and 

 such specimens occasionally find their way to large public 

 aquaria. 



The last specimen exhibited in the Brighton Aquarium 

 lived there for four months, travelling many thousands of 

 miles up and down its tank during that period. It became 

 remarkably tame, feeding from the hand only two days 



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