THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 680 



it to be only an ornament, or mark of the superior dignity of the 

 sexto which it has been awarded. It is known to use it for 

 breaking ice to obtain a breathing hole, and Scoresby asserts that 

 with the tusk it transfixes flat fish, upon which it feeds. 



The norwhal attains a length of sixteen or eighteen feet, and 

 the tusk is sometimes ten feet in length. This tusk is of solid 

 ivory, and grows from the intermaxillary bone from a permanent 

 pulp, as in the elephant. They are generally in bands of ten to 

 twenty, and are often seen sporting and spouting around whaling 

 vessels, elevating their tusks as though specially proud of show- 

 ing them. Norwhals are migratory, and their appearance is 

 hailed with delight by the Greenlanders, who consider them the 

 certain forerunners of the right whale, as they both feed on the 

 same kinds of food. They are harpooned for their ivory, oil and 

 flesh, which latter the Greenlanders consider ".rare delicacy. The 

 ivory is very hard and susceptible of a high polish. A famous 

 throne of the kings of Denmark is said to be made of walrus 

 tusks. 



THE DOLPHIN. 



THERE are so many species of this animal inhabiting the polar 

 and tropical seas alike, that any attempt to describe it in detail 

 would be foreign to our general subject, treating as it does of 

 Arctic animals. The dolphin is allied to the whale, though not 

 in resemblance, but it is a warm blooded animal, brings forth its 

 young and suckles them in the same manner, and also projects 

 water through a similar spiracle opening at the top of its head. 

 Those inhabiting the Arctic waters are called black dolphins and 

 bottle-nosed whales. It grows to a length of twenty feet, and 

 being armed with 136 powerful teeth, it is a dreadful enemy to 

 small fish, upon which it preys. No cetacean strands more fre- 

 quently than the black dolphin, and occasionally large herds have 

 been driven on the shores of Iceland, Norway, and the Orkney, 

 Shetland and Faeroe islands, where their capture is hailed as a 

 godsend. The intelligence that a shoal of ca'ing whales or grinds 



t5 55 



has been seen approaching the coast, creates great excitement 

 among the otherwise phlegmatic inhabitants of the Faeroe 

 44 



