866 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



requires little stretch of imagination to mistake it for a human being ; so like, indeed, was it, that the 

 surgeon of the ship actually reported to me that he had seen a man with his head just appearing above 

 the surface of the water ! " 



The second division of the Cetacea is formed of the Flesh- Eaters. 



Animal matter, such as fishes and mollusca, form the food of these creatures. Their skin is 

 smooth, and on the back there is, in many species, a vertical cartilaginous fin, unconnected with the 

 skeleton. The nostrils are situated on the top of the head, which is the most elevated part of the 

 body, so as to be always above the water when the animals are floating. These organs are, in 

 fact, small openings into a tubular elongation of the nares, provided with a muscular apparatus for the 

 purpose of compressing it with vehemence ; hence it is that its small apertures are called blow-holes, 

 because, when the animals reach the surface to respire, they produce, by forcibly expelling the air, a 

 hissing noise, heard from the whale at a great distance ; and a column of vapour arises also to a 

 considerable height. Sometimes it happens that, long before reaching the surface, the creature breathes 

 out the air pent up in the lungs with considerable violence, throwing up the spray in jets d'eau; and 

 this is commonly the case if it has been chased, or is alarmed. The windpipe opens into the back of 

 the nostrils, in the form of a pyramid. The glottis is simple, so that the voice consists only of a 

 bellowing sound. The sight and hearing are quick beneath the water, and there also is the sense of 

 smell. The stomach has many sub-divisions. The head is large, in many exceeding in size the 

 remainder of the body. 



One genus* has numerous simple and conical teeth ; the forehead is rounded, and the muzzle 

 projects from the head, so as to form a sort of beak, or slender snout, well armed with weapons. 



THE DOLPHIN.f 



THIS creature is met with in all the warmer seas ; its length is from eight to ten feet. In troops it 

 hunts down its prey, cleaving the waters with surprising velocity, and driving the flying fishes to seek 

 refuge in the air, but pursuing the chase until they are captured. 



Another genusj differs from the former only in having a shorter muzzle, equally elevated with the 

 forehead. 



THE COMMON POEPOISE. 



THIS animal is found in all the seas of Europe, in the Atlantic Ocean, and in the Mediterranean. 

 When the surface is smooth, porpoises are often seen to spring out of the water, and to make con- 

 siderable leaps, as if in amusement. Their food is chiefly fish, which they pursue with great rapidity, 

 and seize with much address. The salmon are often observed to spring several yards out of the 

 water ; but, from the quickness of their foes, it seems impossible they should escape. The porpoise 

 was at one time relished as an article of food. Malcolm IV. granted to the monastery of Dunfermline 

 thos-e which were caught in its neighbourhood and it is said to have been, introduced at the tables of 

 the old English nobility, as late as the time of Queen Elizabeth. It was eaten with a sauce of bread 

 crumbs and vinegar. 



Another genus || contains a very remarkable animal, a native Of the Polar Seas 



THE NAEAVAL.1 



THIS creature has no true teeth, but two tusks, analogous to those of the elephant, implanted in the 

 intermaxillary bones. The left one is enormously developed, projecting straight forwards with the 

 line of the body, being spirally twisted, and tapering to a point. Its length is from six to eight or 

 ten feet ; the tusk on the right side is imperfectly developed, seldom advancing far out of the socket, 

 and sometimes not appearing beyond it. Should its companion be broken oft', it begins to increase, 

 but it never equals the lost one. 



The prevailing colour of the Narwal is blackish-gray on the back, variegated with numerous 



* Delphinm: Linnieus. f D. Delphi*. J Phocoena : Cuvier. ' P. Communis. ||1lonodon. 



U II. Monoceros: Linnaeus. 



