THE DOLPHINS— DOLPHINS PROPER. 



571 



shining skin is deep black above, grayish black be- 

 low, marked with a broad, heart-shaped, white patch 

 on the lower part of the neck. Very old males at- 

 tain a length of from twenty feet to twenty-three 

 feet four inches. The Ca'ing Whale inhabits the 

 Arctic Ocean and also the northern part of the 

 Pacific. From the Arctic Ocean it prowls throughout 

 the northern part of the Atlantic, occasionally pene- 

 trating as far south as the latitude of Gibraltar, but 

 it does not follow definite routes as do other Whales. 

 More gregarious than others of its family and order, 

 it always lives in schools and herds, which may 

 swell from ten and twenty to one thousand or more. 

 It seems that they are led by old, experienced 

 males, which they follow with the same indifference, 

 or rather stupidity, that Sheep exhibit in following 

 their leading ram, even if it be to their own peril. 



The diet consists principally of various varieties of 

 Cuttle-fish; yet the stomach of a Ca'ing Whale which 

 was killed jvas found to contain Haddocks, Herrings 

 and other small fish, and several kinds of mollusks. 



pers are placed squarely on the sides, in about the 

 first fifth of the length of the body; the dorsal fin is 

 situated nearly in the middle of the upper surface; 

 the tail-fin is proportionately very large and of an 

 almost exact crescent shape. 

 The Dolphin De- The Dolphin (Delpkinus delphis) at- 

 soibed — Its tains an average length of six feet 

 Wide Range. eight inches. The skin is exceed- 

 ingly smooth, and not only shining but varied in 

 color. It is greenish brown or greenish black above, 

 dazzlingly white below, with a sharp but not straight 

 line of demarcation; the sides are irregularly spotted 

 with a grayish or blackish tint. The number of 

 teeth is subject to considerable variations. Usually 

 there are from eighty-four to one hundred in each 

 jaw, but there also have been found Dolphins which 

 had fifty-three teeth on each side of the jaws above 

 and below: that is, the amazing number of two hun- 

 dred and twelve in all. The teeth stand at regular 

 intervals, the upper ones interlocking between the 

 lower ones; they are long, conical and very pointed. 



CA'ING OR PILOT WHALE. Belonging to the genus of the Round-headed Whales is the Ca'ing or Pilot Whale which inhahits the 



Arctic and the northern portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The head is almost round and its dorsal fin is rather large and of crescent 

 shape. These animals often pursue their prey to the shore and get lost on the shallow banks. 'GloHoce^halus me/as.) 



The Ca'ing Whale No other Whale is stranded so fre- 

 Frequently quently and in such numbers as the 

 Stranded. Ca'ing Whale, the gregarious habits 

 of which lead it into fatal danger; perhaps it is not 

 going too far to say that this Whale does not meet 

 with death in the sea, but almost invariably on land. 

 Hardly a year passes, but that a greater or smaller 

 number of Ca'ings are stranded in some place. In 

 1779 a herd of two hundred met with this fate, in 

 1805 another of three hundred was stranded on the 

 Shetland Isles; and in iSoo,and 1810 eleven hundred 

 Whales were cast ashore in a bay called Walfjord in 

 Iceland. On all northern islands the inhabitants 

 have endeavored, from ancient times, to strand all 

 Ca'ing Whales which show themselves in the neigh- 

 borhood, in order to take advantage of the very con- 

 siderable profit which results from their capture. 



THE DOLPHINS PROPER. 



The Dolphins, and several species closely allied to 

 them, represent a distinct genus {Dclpliinus). The 

 comparatively small head tapers in front into a snout, 

 elongated in a beak-like manner and armed with a 

 great number of conical permanent teeth; the flip- 



All the seas of the northern hemisphere are in- 

 cluded in the habitat of this celebrated animal, 

 which contributes so much to the amusement of sea- 

 farers and travelers. In its habits and ways the Dol- 

 phin exhibits, if possible, a still more playful, capri- 

 cious disposition than its relatives. Sometimes it 

 prowls about the high seas, sometimes it ascends far 

 towards the sources of rivers. Dolphins approach 

 ships in schools and play around them for a long 

 time before they shape their course in another direc- 

 tion; they plunge up and down incessantly, lift their 

 heads above the water for a few moments, blowing 

 with a snorting noise, and then disappear again in 

 the deep. They swim with such extraordinary 

 speed, that they not only follow the course of the 

 swiftest steamer with ease, but gambol near it on 

 their way, circling around it at will, without being 

 left behind. Occasionally one of them jerks itself up 

 into the air and, turning a somersault, falls noise- 

 lessly back into the water and hurriedly resumes 

 its former position. 



The teeth show clearly enough that the Dolphin 

 belongs among the most predaceous and voracious 

 animals of the sea; it is said to even turn upon its 



