4 i6 WHALES AND DOLPHINS 



is still more abnormally developed into a long, twisted, 

 yellow ivory horn. Occasionally it is the right one that 

 thus grows to a length of perhaps ten feet ; but very 

 rarely does the creature possess two horns. Its habitat 

 is restricted to the Arctic regions, in the shallower waters 

 of which it stirs up sluggish fish preparatory to despatch- 

 ing them with its sharply pointed horn. 



The natives of the frozen North believe the Narwhal 

 is simply the male of the Beluga or White Whale, and 

 save for the horn they have a marked resemblance in 

 structure. But the Beluga leaves the sea to pursue 

 salmon far up the Alaskan rivers, which the Narwhal is 

 never known to do. 



The Narwhal is of considerable economic importance, 

 for it yields an oil much superior to that of the Whale. 

 A tusk of ivory eight feet or more in length, with a 

 basal girth of seven or eight inches, is of no little value ; 

 it would be doubly so but that throughout its length the 

 tusk is hollow. 



PORPOISE (Phoccena communis}. 



The Porpoise, five, six, or seven feet in length, is 

 common in the North Atlantic. Often off the British coasts 

 a shoal of Porpoises may be seen frolicking quite near to 

 the shore. Passengers on board ocean-going liners are 

 always interested in watching the sportive ' black pigs,' as 

 sailors call them. As they race along the side of the ship 

 they seem as though they are invested with something very 

 much like humour, for their wide mouths appear to wear a 

 distinct smile as they rise from a wave to throw themselves 

 into the air, gambol with a friend, or sink again with 

 twinkling eyes brimful of laughter. 



The flesh of the Porpoise is a useful addition to the 

 larder in various regions. At one time it was a standard 

 dish at public feasts in England. Sailors, however, will not 

 eat it unless necessity compels. The animals are captured 

 chiefly for their oil, and the skin can be converted into 

 useful leather. The so-called porpoise hide that is so 

 impervious to wet is more often the skin of the White 



