506 PORPESSE. 



remarkably fat, being covered immediately un- 

 der the skin with a thick coat of lard, affording 

 a great quantity of oil. 



The Porpesse was once considered as a sump- 

 tuous article of food, and is said to have been oc- 

 casionally introduced at the tables of the old Eng- 

 lish nobility ; and this so lately as the time of 

 Queen Elizabeth. It was eaten with a sauce 

 composed of crumbs of fine bread with sugar and 

 vinegar. It is however now generally neglected 

 even by sailors. 



The Porpesse, being by far the most common, 

 and most easily obtained of all the European Ce- 

 tacea, has, of course, been more accurately exa- 

 mincd than any other species; 13elon, Rondele- 

 tius, Tyson, and others, having given very good 

 descriptions of its internal structure ; and in or- 

 der to convey a general idea of the similarity of its 

 fabric to that of the terrestrial Mammalia, a figure 

 of an opened Porpesse is introduced into the pre- 

 sent publication ; some of the viscera being re- 

 moved, in order to shew others to greater advan- 

 tage. The skeleton is also represented on a sepa- 

 rate plate. 



