682 



PORPOISE-HUNTING. 



PORTUGAL. 



boat pulled with muffled oars, or perhaps from 

 both working together. After the school is 

 surrounded the greatest caution has to be exer- 

 cised, because if once the quarry starts for the 

 open sea, no net can hold them. A smaller and 

 still stronger net is therefore provided, and a 

 few porpoises at a time are separated from the 

 main school and captured, hauled ashore by 

 main strength, or harpooned, as may be most 

 convenient. The oil is tried out on ship-board 

 or in rough sheds on the beach, special care 

 being taken to secure every drop of the precious 

 head-oil. The hides are salted and sent north 

 to be cured. An excellent fertilizer has been 

 made from the refuse of the porpoise after the 

 hide and the blubber have been removed, and an 

 attempt has been made, not attended as yet 

 with any marked success, to introduce the pre- 

 served flesh as an article of food. The hunting 

 season off Cape Hatteras begins in November 

 and ends in the latter part of May. About 

 2,000 porpoises are reported so have been capt- 

 ured during a single season. 



Recent researches and observations have 

 thrown new light upon the history and habits 

 of the different species. "Whales, porpoises, 

 and seals were reckoned as fish in the early 

 days, and were permitted for Lenten diet; but 

 after the 14th century they were pronounced 

 by royal edict too dainty a dish for the million, 

 and even in Elizabeth's time they were among 

 the places regales. The tongue was, and indeed 

 is still in some quarters, considered an especial 

 dainty. In Roger's " History of Agriculture 

 and Prices in England," A. D. 1200 to 1582, it 

 is said that "porpoise was much bought. The 

 Duke of Bucks gave 7s lOd for a quarter of one 

 in 1444, while Sion Abbey paid 10s for the 

 same delicacy in 1502. In 1580-'33, at Durham, 

 their price varied from 15s to 6s 8d ; in 1531, 

 from 4s to 13s; in 1532, 9s; in 1533 one whole 

 porpoise cost Is 8d." In "Via Recta ad Vitam 

 Longam" (1650) it is said that "the tunie, 

 porpoise, and such like great bestial fish are of 

 very hard digestion, noisome to stomach, of a 

 very gross excremental and naughty juice," 

 from which it appears either that the digestive 

 powers of the English race had deteriorated in 

 the interim or else that public opinion was all 

 wrong two hundred years before. Considered 

 as variants from the mammalian type found in 

 seals, having mere paddles for hind legs, it is 

 found that porpoises retain only a remnant of 

 the hip-girdle. The neck has disappeared alto- 

 gether, and the vertebra of that region are 

 united in a mass. The external ear and the 

 hairy coat have disappeared, but in the young 

 of all the species there is a trace of whiskers, 

 and often an ear-like appendage that disappears 

 with maturer years. 



Common or harbor porpoises are found all 

 along both coasts of North America, varying 

 slightly in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. 

 They ascend rivers far above brackish water, 

 but do not venture far off soundings. The 

 species encountered at sea are distinct. Speci- 



mens of the white whale have been captured as 

 far south as Cape Cod, but their recognized 

 habitat is north of the Bay of Fundy. The 

 brain of all porpoises is far more highly de- 

 veloped than that of true fishes, and their 

 behavior in captivity shows that they are pos- 

 sessed of an interesting degree of intelligence. 

 Some of the European species, which is closely 

 allied to, if not identical with, that of the 

 American coast, have for several years been 

 domesticated in the Aquarium at Brighton, 

 England, and in this country a large specimen 

 of the white whale was exhibited for a time in 

 the New York Aquarium. 



PORTUGAL, a constitutional monarchy in 

 southwestern Europe. The carta de ley, or 

 fundamental law, was accorded by Dorn Pedro 

 IV in 1826, and revised in 1852, and again in 

 1885 by the Cortes. The Cortes, or Repre- 

 sentative Assembly, is composed of a Chamber 

 of Peers and a Chamber of Deputies. The law 

 of July 24, 1885, provides for the gradual ex- 

 tinction of hereditary peerages. The King will 

 appoint life-peers, but can only appoint one for 

 every three vacancies that occur until their 

 number is reduced to 100, after which a new 

 peer will be nominated to fill every vacancy. 

 The hereditary peers now living, and their 

 immediate successors, will continue to have 

 seats in the Chamber. Princes of the blood 

 royal and the 12 bishops of the Continental 

 dioceses are official members. There will bo 

 50 elective peers, who must be chosen from 

 the class from which the King may select life- 

 members under the law of May 3, 1878. Of 

 these, 5 are to be chosen by delegates of the 

 University of Coimbra and certain scientific 

 bodies, 4 by delegates of the city of Lisbon, 3 

 by delegates of Oporto, and 2 each by dele- 

 gates from 19 other districts. The members 

 of the Chamber of Deputies are elected direct- 

 ly by the citizens of full age who can read or 

 write and possess an income of 100 milreis, 

 and by heads of families. The King has the 

 right of veto, but a vetoed act that is passed 

 again by both houses becomes law. The reign- 

 ing King is Luis I, born Oct. 81, 1838. The 

 heir-apparent is Prince Carlos, Duke of Bra- 

 ganza, born Sept. 28, 1863. The Cabinet, con- 

 stituted Feb. 20, 1886, is composed of the fol- 

 lowing ministers : President of the Council 

 and Minister of the Interior, Lucianno de 

 Castro Pereira Corte Real ; Minister of Just- 

 ice, F. A. da Veiga Beirao ; Minister of Public 

 Works, E. J. Navarro ; Minister of Finance, 

 M. Cyrillo de Carvalho; Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs and Minister of Marine and the Colo- 

 nies, ad interim, H. de Barros Gomes ; Minis- 

 ter of War, Viscount de San Januario. 



Area and Population. The area of Continental 

 Portugal, according to the latest calculations 

 of the geodetic survey, is 88,872 square kilo- 

 metres; its population in 1881 was 4,306,554. 

 The Azores have an area of 2,388 square kilo- 

 metres, and contiiined 269,401 inhabitants in 

 1881, while the island of Madeira, with an area 



