2G4 DIVISION I. VEirrEBKAL AXIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



siininicr smiles upon tlie billow, and spreads her j^^olden drapery of sunshine 

 along the shores. The usual length of the porpoise is tour or five feet, yet 

 sometimes specimens arc seen six or eight i'cct long. The skin is smooth and 

 polt ; on the up[>cr part of the body, of a deep bluish-black, fading away on 

 the sides till it accjuircs a sihery whiteness on the belly. The pectorals are 

 brownish, though tliey rise from a white ground. The teeth arc ninety-two, 

 all equally ilat and cutting. The brain is ];u-ge and convex, and formed of 

 numerous and deep convolutions lying over the cerebellum, and in this respei;t 

 bears astriking reseml)lance to that of man. The dorsal lin and tail ha\e no 

 interior bony mechanism, and the firmer is composed aluKJSt wholly of fat. 



The social disposition and gregarious habits of the ])orpoises lead them to 

 form muuerous societies or shoals, the indi\i(lu:ds (if which irccpicntly swim in 

 a line, one before another, nc^■er showing above the surf ice more than the u])per 

 l)art of the body, — excc[it in their playful nionds, — and in such a way that 

 they .'ipiicar to make a revolving motion on themselves. Tlicy do not seek 

 the deep waters of the ocean, luit seem to prefer the coasts and rivers, \vhich 

 they ascend in pursuit of fish, sonietiincs — contrary to the opinion of some 

 naturalists — far beyond the line where the salt and fresh waters mix. A siioal 

 of them, in October, lS(iS, passed up the Taunton Iii\cr, as fir as the city 

 of the same name, where the water is perfectly iresli. One individual was 

 shot, and exhibited in the market of that city for some days. Their fa\oritc 

 food appears to be herring, mackerel, and other similar li.-h, which tbcv pur- 

 sue with extraordinary swiftness, and capture with inucii skill. The flesh of 

 the porpoise is dark-colored, and was once miK'h esteemed as an article of food. 

 AVe have jiartaken of a dish composed of the brain and other parts, and found 

 it not unpalataljle. It was common on the tables of the iMiglish gentry as 

 recently as the time of Queen Elizabeth, and was eaten with a sauce of 

 crumbs and vinegar; and later than this period, it was in great request in 

 Iioman Catholic countries, during the season of Lent, as, from its being an 

 inhabitant of the sea, it was conveniently considered a fish. Captain Col- 

 nctt relates that its flesh chopped fine, with salt pork, made excellent sausages, 

 and was thus used by himself and crew as their ordinary food. 



Accordins to Anderson tliev carry their vouncr six months. The cub at 

 birth is about twenty inches long, and the mother watches over it with the 

 most tender care. At the age of ten months it arrives at maturity. "We 

 have often been struck by the exceeding scnsibilit}^ of these creatures, and 

 been most painfully moved by their exhibition of distress, when captured, 

 moaning and crying, and turning their eyes rc[iroaclifully upon their cruel 

 assailants, as if demanding by what right they made them the oliject of their 

 persecution. Could we have had our own way, they would have speedily 

 been returned to the freedom and enjoyment of their native element. 



