652 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the anterior appendages. In the fishes the pectoral fins (see p. 304) have 

 a very rudimentary skeleton, while the flippers of the whales have essen- 

 tially the same bones as are found in the arm and hand of man. Further, 

 whale- breathe by lungs; fishes, by gills. Whence the whales had their 

 origin is a far from settled question ; but the probabilities are, as shown 

 1>\ .Mr. Flower, that they have descended from some ungulated form, and 

 heme we place them after that group. In classification of the whales we 

 follow the old count already quoted, and divide them into two groups, in 

 one of which teeth varying in number are always present, while in the 

 other there are no teeth, but instead the plates of whalebone, the structure 

 and purposes of which will appear in the sequel. In each group there are 

 many species, but of course we can mention but few of them. 



The first to be taken up are the toothed whales, — these first because 

 they show the least variation from other mammals, — and of these we 

 begin with the river-dolphins, which occur in the large rivers of India and 

 of South America. They are well provided with teeth (from fifty to 

 seventy in eacli jaw), which they use in capturing and eating fish, shrimps, 

 and other animals living in the rivers. The species occurring in India are 

 called susu; that in the Amazon, inia. The natives of Brazil invest the 

 inia with certain sacred features, and do not willingly kill it. 



Of the family of porpoises and dolphins there are many species, some 

 of which are known by these names, while others have their own special 

 appellatives, as will appear farther on. With us the best-known form is 

 the common porpoise abundant on our shores; and scarcely less common is 

 the dolphin, which is continually coming to the surface, and then diving 

 beneath the waxes. They have comparatively little importance except as 

 they devour large quantities of fish. A little less common are the black- 

 ish, which go in large schools, and at times are drawn on the shores in 

 immense numbers by the fishermen. This is especially the case on Cape 

 Cud. and there the annual catch adds a pretty penny to the pockets of the 

 fishermen; Eor the oil from one fish will average say twenty dollars, and 

 some have been known to yield ten barrels of oil, while small lean indi- 

 viduals will not try out more than that number of gallons. After the 

 blubber has been taken off, the heads are severed from the body, and the 

 oil in the jaws is allowed to run out under the influence of the sun. This 

 i- the black-fish oil which is so highly esteemed as a lubricant, and which 

 is used on delicate machinery, watches, and the like. 



The black-fish live in constant fear of the killer whales, but these, the 

 most savage of all the whales, do not confine their attacks to the black- 

 fish. Anything that swims is their prey. They attack even the largest 



