CETACEANS, 



235 



boats, in order to obtain a supply of oil for ship 

 consumption. Some risk, however, attends their cap- 

 ture; for, when harpooned, they will sometimes leap 

 into a boat, and instances have occurred of whalers 

 losing their lives by this accident. A Black- Fish, of 

 average size, will produce from thirty to thirty-five 

 gallons of an oil which, in its most recent state, has a 

 dark colour and an unpleasant odour. 



DELPHINUS PERONII, Lac^pede. 



(The Right Whale Porpoise of Whalers.) 



This rare and elegant species of Dolphin came under 

 my notice only in the higher south latitudes, and 

 during the Tuscan's passage round Cape Horn. It is 

 chiefly distinguished from the common Dolphin (Del- 

 phinus delphis) by the peculiarity of its colour, and the 

 total absence of any appendage, or dorsal fin, 011 the 

 back; from which latter circumstance it derives the 

 trivial name applied to it by whalers. 



Judging from the examples we obtained, the average 

 length of this cetacean is six feet.* Its form is 



* One specimen measured six feet four inches. 



