Aft 



the water. It was a Susii CiangetiC Dolphin, (Platenista 

 gangetica of Zoologists), 



NATURAL HISfORtf Of T?EtE DOLfHttf. 



The Dolphin has an elongated body, and a long 

 compressed beak provided with large conical teeth, which 

 are rather sharp-pointed in young, but become worn 

 down as the animal gro\vs old. Its dimensions vary from 

 seven or eight to even twelve feet ; the colour is uni- 

 formly black or greyish black. This aquatic animal is 

 perfectly blind, because its eyes are not only rudimentary 

 but completely buried beneath the thick, opaque hide 

 of the head, There is, however, nothing strange in this ^ 

 deprivation of sight, which would be useless to a beast 

 which lives in thick muddy water. Any one who has 

 sailed often in the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, or the 

 Indus cannot have failed to notice that these animals do 

 not show themselves always and everywhere in these 

 rfvers. They are migratory in habits and desert such 

 parts as become clear and shallow during the summer 

 for others which are deep and dirty. Their food con- 

 sists of fish and prawns, and also, it is said, crabs ; but 

 this requires confirmation. Dolphins are sometimes 

 captured by fishermen, either accidentally or on purpose, 

 as their oil is said to possess great efficacy in curing 

 rheumatism and allied disorders. 



We were now opposite the new docks at Khidder- 

 pore, and while looking at the operation of dredging 

 going on in one of the graving docks, observed a bird 



