132 ARCTIC ZOOLOGY. 



whale, and the batena muscukis or broad-nosed whale, T 

 have already some reason to suppose they have the best 

 place in a description on the page of a publication on 

 natural history professedly directed to exhibit new species. 

 They shall for that reason be included in the general de- 

 scription of the former species. 



The physeter, or cachalot, is seldom caught in Davis's 

 Strait, especially the P. macrocephalus or spermaceti 

 whale. It is from the head of this animal that spermaceti 

 is obtained : and from its intestines, when diseased, the 

 substance of ambergrise is procured. Those seen in Davis's 

 Strait are now very rare. The body is generally whitish 

 and smooth. It has a double row of teeth in the lower 

 jaAv, forty-six in number, which ;ire received into sockets in 

 the upper. 



The physeter microps, or sharp-nosed cachalot, is some- 

 times, but very rarely, seen in the northern seas. I had 

 an opportunity of observing only one in Davis's Strait. 



Delphinus phoca^na, or common porpoise, is frequently 

 seen in numerous shoals in the Strait, tumbling about in 

 the roughest waves as if in sport. The general length of 

 this animal is seven feet. The usual food of the porpoise 

 are herrings and small fish ; but of these I never saw any 

 in Davis's Strait. 



Delphinus Orca (common grampus). — There are two 

 varieties of this genus to be met with in the northern seas. 



