GIANTS OF THE DEEP 



325 



seaside appear to take any intelligent interest in the wild life that 

 may be observed for the searching. I have long made a practice 

 of seeing as much as I possibly can during my pilgrimages by the 

 sea, and it adds a zest to one's holiday to gather as much informa- 

 tion as possible of the fauna and flora of a strange neighbourhood. 

 Lists may be made of the different kinds of animals and plants 

 that come under observation, and in after years it is useful and 

 interesting to compare these local lists, and, moreover, one is able, 

 as a result of compiling them, to answer queries respecting some 

 portion of our island home, and perchance put a kindred spirit on 

 the track of some animal or plant with which he or she desires to 

 make acquaintance. 



To return to the Common Porpoise after this digression ; it 

 attains a length of some five feet, and frequents the North Atlantic 

 and North Pacific Oceans, the North Sea and the coasts of Europe. 

 It is an active, and, indeed, elegantly mobile beast when seen 

 pursuing its movements in the water, turning and twisting in a 

 most engaging way, showing as it does so now the dark upper 

 parts and now the pure white belly. It simply revels in the sea, 

 and when a company are engaged at play their antics cannot fail 

 to arrest attention. It feeds entirely upon fish, and the fishermen 

 also fall foul of this animal because of this, such fish as herrings, 

 mackerel and pilchards being much sought after by this Cetacean. 



Only one young is born, and this happens some time during 

 the Summer months. 



It must not be supposed that because the fisherman discards 

 the body of the Porpoise that it is of no commercial value, as oil 

 is obtained from it and the skin is also of service. In days gone 

 by the flesh also of the animal was esteemed in England. The 

 body of one individual yields about three gallons of oil, but it is 

 necessary to capture a great many of them before it is worth while 

 making raids upon them. 



INDIAN PORPOISE, AND OTHERS.— The Indian Porpoise is dis- 

 tinguished from the Common species by the absence of the back- 

 fin, and it does not possess so many teeth. It is also a smaller 

 animal, measuring only some four feet and is black all over. It 

 is an inhabitant of shallow water, and is said to be of a sluggish 

 disposition. 



Passing by Heaviside's Dolphin, which resides in the sea near 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and the Irawadi Dolphin, which is a large 



