332 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE 



Majesty, the king of France and of Navarre, it is said in 

 the following way : The Counts of Grenoble, who in the 

 ninth century w^ere feudatories of the kingdom of Aries, 

 subsequently became, as Counts of Vienne, independent, 

 and Count Guy VIII. became surnamed " Le Dauphin " 

 because he wore one on his helmet and shield, and his 

 territory was called '• Dauphine." The last of that 

 dynasty, having lost liis only son, gave up his sove- 

 reignty to King Philippe of Yalois in 1349 and became 

 a friar. From that time the king's eldest son was 

 known by this title, as the English king's was by that of 

 Prince of Wales. 



The flesh of the dolphin, like that of the porpoise, 

 used to be eaten in Lent, and the celebrated Dr. Caius 

 of Cambridge says that in his time it w^as considered a 

 delicacy. 



Its voice consists of a low murmur. It has but a 

 single young one at a time, which the female treats with 

 great tenderness and care. Its milk is abundant and rich. 



Dolphins are very voracious and eat large quantities 

 of fish. They often approach fishermen's nets, and they 

 doubtless sometimes follow ships for the sake of food. 

 They swim with great velocity, and can shoot ahead of 

 vessels and round them although they may at the time 

 be scudding rapidly before the breeze. 



The common dolphin is found in the Mediterranean 

 and Atlantic, while closely allied forms inhabit the 

 Australian seas and the North Pacific. 



A very curious cetacean inhabits the Ganges, Brahma- 

 putra, and the Indus. It is found even in the smallest 

 tributaries of those rivers, where there is water enough 

 for it to swim, but it never passes out into the open sea. 

 It attains eight feet in length, and is known in Bengal as 



