GRAMPUS. 115 



with the title of the " sacred fish ; " whilst the Porpesse, 

 without cause, holden in abhorrence, has almost univer- 

 sally been degraded by the appellation of " sea-hog." 

 By the ancient Greeks and Romans it was believed, that 

 in cases of shipwreck, Dolphins were almost always in 

 waiting, to convey the unfortunate mariners on shore. 

 It has been customary with painters, to represent the 

 Dolphin in an arched form ; this, however, is a great 

 error, as the animal only occasionally assumes this form, 

 when in the act of gambolling about near the surface of 

 the water. The flesh, both of the Dolphin and Por- 

 pesse, is considered, by seamen, as by no means bad 

 eating. 



The body of the Porpesse is of a somewhat conical 

 form ; the snout is blunt, and the back broad. Of the 

 Dolphin, the body is oblong and roundish : and the 

 snout is narrow and pointed, with a broad, transverse 

 band, or projection of skin, on its upper part. Their 

 length is from five to ten feet ; but the Porpesses are 

 generally the shorter of the two. They are each of a 

 blackish colour on the upper parts of their body, and 

 white beneath. 



Grampus. There are no animals of their tribe so 

 powerful and so ferocious as the Grampus. They alike 

 attack both the larger and smaller inhabitants of the 

 ocean. Swimming in considerable troops, they are even 

 so daring as to attack the largest whales, tearing their 

 flesh, and tormenting them in a most cruel manner. 

 Their chief food, however, is said to consist of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of flat-fish. 



These animals, which are found not only in the At- 

 lantic, but also in the Southern Ocean, as far as the 

 Antarctic Circle, are from twenty to twenty-five feet in 



