DOLPHINS. 



is by no means rare upon the shores of the northern 

 parts of the island, where it arrives in herds ; and these 

 are so sluggish in their motions, that they get aground 

 and are captured. The largest are rather more than 

 twenty feet long, and about twelve feet in circum- 

 ference. The upper part of the body is a bluish black, 

 and the under part white. They feed upon small 

 fishes, and are not understood to be so voracious as 

 some of the rest of the genus. Their teeth are for- 

 midable, however, and those of the two jaws lock into 

 each other like a trap ; but they are apt to decay as the 

 animal becomes old. 



The GRAMPUS (delphinus orca) is a constant inhabi- 

 tant of the British seas. There is a little confusion in 

 its natural history, some making two varieties, or even 

 species, and some only one. Probably, there is only 

 one species, though the habits of that one may be 

 changed a little with climate and food. It is a most 

 voracious animal, more so than any other of the genus, 

 for it attacks the porpesse, and probably, also, the 

 weaker individuals of its own species. It is large too, 

 sometimes equalling, or even exceeding, twenty-four 

 feet in length, with thickness and strength in pro- 

 portion. Packs of them are said to attack the Green- 

 land whale, and tear off his flesh in masses. Indeed, 

 they are so ferocious and such indiscriminate spoilers, 

 that they spare not even their own kind. But though, 

 in the one grand object of its being, the grampus be 

 thus ferocious, there lies against it no charge of cruelty ; 

 and in the other part, the care of its young, it shows 

 the greatest tenderness and solicitude. This instinct 



