PORPOISES AND DOLPHINS. 45 



posts, to which a net was fastened. Near by lay a salmon, which the white 

 whale was supposed to have been pursuing when it was caught in this manner. 



In regard to its habits, Captain Scammon writes that, like most 

 of the other members of the family, the white whale " is fond of 

 gathering in troops, yet we have observed that it generally advances in lines of 

 seldom more than two or three abreast, or more frequently in single file ; spouting 

 irregularly, and showing little of its form above water. When undulating along 

 in this manner, it often makes a noise at the moment of coming to the surface to 

 respire, which may be likened to the faint lowing of an ox, but the strain is not so 

 prolonged. Sometimes these animals will gambol about vessels as porpoises do ; 

 but at the slightest noise upon the water, or at the discharge of firearms, they 

 instantly disappear." This species is fairly rapid in its motions, more especially in 

 pursuit of the fish which constitute its chief food. When pursuing fish like 

 halibut and flounders, the beluga frequently enters shoal- water, in which it can 

 scarcely float ; but in such situations it is said to exhibit no alarm, and to make 

 but slight efforts to reach deeper waters. In addition to fish, the white whale also 

 consumes cuttles and various crustaceans. 



In captivity the beluga is easily tamed, and exhibits considerable docility. A 

 specimen was shown alive at the Westminster Aquarium in 1877, and another in 

 1878 ; but neither lived long. 



The white whale is killed for its blubber, flesh, and hide ; a 

 specimen measuring 16^ feet in length, yielded one hundred gallons 

 of oil. To give some idea of the commercial importance of this animal, it may be 

 mentioned that in 1871 the Tromsoe whalers captured no less than 2167 individuals, 

 each of which was worth about 3 ; the catch that year appears, however, to have 

 been considerably above the average. The Greenlanders dry the flesh for winter 

 use, and in parts of Siberia the Eskimo dogs are mainly fed on this meat. The fat 

 is considered a luxurious dish in winter. In Russia, white whale skin is used for 

 reins and traces ; and it is now imported in some quantities into England under the 

 name of porpoise-hide. In some of the Siberian rivers, white whale are harpooned 

 and lanced in the ordinary manner ; but in other districts they are taken in nets 

 from June to September. 



PORPOISES. 

 Genus Phoccena. 



The common porpoise (Phoccena communis), of the European seas, is the best- 

 known representative of a genus readily distinguished from all the others by the 

 characters of the teeth. These are from sixteen to twenty-six in number on each 

 side of the jaws, and are very small, with flattened spade-like crowns separated from 

 the roots by a distinct neck ; sometimes the upper border of the crown is entire, but 

 in other cases it is divided into two or three distinct lobes. In size, porpoises are small; 

 and the head has a rounded muzzle, without a beak. There is generally a fin on the 

 back, although this is wanting in one species. The skull has a very broad palate, 

 and the union between the two branches of the lower jaw is very short. There are 



