OKDEK VI. THE CETACEA. 2G3 



wliich is short and round, witli something like a pad over its niontli, L;i\ing 

 it a very pccuhar appearance. Eacii jaw ap[)ears to be i'urnished with iVoni 

 twenty to twenty-cigiit teeth, and wiicu tlic uioutli is sliut, tiiey lock into 

 eacli other like those of a rat trap. 



The fa\oritc hamits of the deductor are in tiie Northern Ocean, Ijetwcen 

 5G° and GiP. It sometimes, however, strays into lower latitudes, and has 

 been seen e\en in the iNIediterrancan. Tiie species is gregarious, often con- 

 gregating in innumerable flocks, which, together with the timid and harndcss 

 nature of the animals, renders them an easy prey to those who hunt them. 

 In all instances on record of their being discovered at sea and driven to land, 

 the chase has been free from danger, and a few frail boats and most ineffec- 

 tive weapons, with shouts and noise in the water, were sufficient to drive them 

 from their native element to their destruction. They have the peculiar in- 

 stinct wliich induces tlicm to follow a leader blindly, wherever he may go, 

 that is seen in a Hock of sheep. Thus l)r. Trail says, "I once was in a boat 

 when an attcm[)t was made to drive a shoal of them ashore ; but when they 

 had approached very near the land, the foremost turned round with a sudden 

 leap, and the whole, followmg, rushed past the boat."' The specific name, 

 Deductor, is derived from this pecidiarity. 



TIk'v exhibit also, in an extraordinary degree, that capacity for maternal 

 and ujutual affection for which all the cetaceans are remarkable. Tiieir 

 associating in troops testifies to their sociability, and their disposition to help 

 and assist one another in difficulties is a proof of the existence among them 

 of a strong feeling of brotherhood. When one of them meets with an acci- 

 dent, or IS stranded, it sets up a howling cry, and innnediately others crowd 

 to the spot as if to afford relief. It is supposed that from this circumstance 

 is derived its popular name of Ca'ing, or Calling Whale. The food of this 

 creature is sand-lances and other smaller fish. It is gencrall}' very fat, the 

 blubber being about thix-e inches thick, and yielding a large quantity of 

 excellent and i)ale oil. 



Genus Piioc.EXA. The distinguishing character of this genus is a short 

 snout, uniformly rounded at the extremity. There are several well-determined 

 species, which are distributed through all seas, enlivening them with their 

 sportive evolutions, and exciting the admiration and wonder of the observer 

 by the celerity of their movements, their sagacity, and their affectionate dis- 

 position towards each other. 



T*. Communis. — The Common Porpoise. There are few residents near 

 the sea-shore who have not often witnessed herds of these interesting an- 

 imals — nearly, if not quite, the smallest of the whale family — springing 

 out of the water, leaping and ski[rjiing over the wave, turning somersets, 

 and romping and amusing themselves in a variety of ways, especially when 



