THE GRAMPUS. 



543 



Porpoise made its appearance in the "silver Thames ; " for the combined influences of 

 steamboats and sewerage afford a most effectual barrier to the presence in our beautiful 

 river of any animal which could in any way remain in the sweet waters of the open sea. 

 Other less maltreated rivers are often honored with the visits of Porpoises ; and it is 

 seldom that a year passes away without several notices in local newspapers of Porpoises 

 which have been seen or captured in fresh water. 



The length of a full-grown Porpoise is extremely variable, the average being from six 

 to eight feet. In this animal the very great size of the new-born young is very remarkable. 

 A mother-Porpoise and her new-born offspring were taken in the Frith of Forth in 1838. 

 The length of the mother was four feet eight inches, and her girth two feet ten inches ; 

 while the length of her offspring was two feet ten inches, and its girth sixteen inches. 

 On the nose of the young Porpoise there are always two thick bristles, which fall out 

 as the creature advances in age, and cause two depressions, which have erroneously 

 been taken for nostrils. The color of the Porpoise is a blue-black on the upper surface 

 of the body, and a bright silvery white below ; so that when the animal executes one of 

 its favorite gyrations the contrasting tints produce a strange effect as they rapidly suc- 

 ceed each other. The iris of the eye is yellowish. 



The word Porpoise is corrupted from the French term " Porc-poisson," /. e. t Hog-fish^ 

 and bears the same signification as its German name, " Meerschwein." 



When the skin of a Porpoise is removed from the body, a layer of white fat is seen 

 lying upon the flesh, about an inch in depth. This fatty layer melts into oil when 

 subjected to the action of heat, and is very fine and delicate in its quality. In common 

 with the oil of other of the Porpoises, it contains a peculiar volatile acid, which can be 

 separated from the fat by chemical agency, and is termed phocenine. The odor of 

 this substance is very powerful, and its taste is acrid and aromatic. It does not con- 

 geal even when its temperature is lowered to fourteen degrees above zero, and its boil- 

 ing point is higher than that of water. 



The skin of the Porpoise is well suited for tanning, and can be manufactured into 

 valuable leather. As it is naturally too thick and heavy for this process, it is planed 

 down until it becomes partially transparent, and is then employed for covering carriages, 

 as well as for some articles of apparel. 



In former times the flesh of the Porpoise was valued very highly, and was looked 

 upon as a regal dish, being cooked with bread-crumbs and vinegar. Before it is dressed 

 it is very unpleasing to the eye, being dark-colored, coarse-looking, and evidently too 

 full of blood ; and its flavor when cooked is said to be coarse and unpleasant. As the 

 Porpoise was conventionally considered as a fish, in common with the otter, seal, and 

 certain sea-fowl, by the ecclesiastical rulers of the land, its flesh was a great boon to 

 those who cared not for a fish diet on the multiplied meagre days which studded the 

 calendar, and at the same time were too reverential towards their ecclesiastical superiors 

 to eat that which was openly considered as butchers' meat. 



On examining the jaws of a Porpoise, we find them to be closely set with rather 

 long, sharp, compressed, and formidable teeth, variable in number, but always 

 multitudinous. There are seldom less than eighty teeth in a Porpoise's mouth, and 

 in the jaws of the female specimen which has already been mentioned there were no 

 less than one hundred and two teeth, twenty-six on each side of the upper jaw, and 

 twenty-five on each side of the lower. In these animals there is no perceptible dis- 

 tinction between the teeth, incisors, canines, and molars being all alike. 



THE head of the GRAMPUS is more rounded than that of the porpoise, and its fore- 

 head is more convex. There are several species of Delphinidae which are called 

 by the name of Grampus, the best known of which is the ordinary or common 

 Grampus. 



It is a decidedly large animal, an adult specimen measuring from twenty to thirty 

 feet in length, and from ten to twelve in girth. The teeth are not nearly so numerous as 

 in the porpoise, being only forty-four in total number, eleven at each side of each jaw, 

 In shape they are somewhat conical, strongly made, and slightly curved. The color of 

 the Grampus is black on the upper part of the body, suddenly changing into white on 



