296 Zoological N. Y. Zoological Society. [1; 16 



pumped from New York Harbor, as it is not practicable to supply 

 it with pure sea water from the Aquarium's large storage reser- 

 voir, on account of the fact that porpoises would rapidly discolor 

 ■ the stored sea-water which is so important to the health of the 

 collection of marine fishes in the Aquarium. The necessity of 

 keeping them in the water of the Harbor, and exhibiting them 

 in a public exhibition room which has to be heated during the 

 winter, makes it, of course, impossible to hold them under entire- 

 ly favorable conditions, yet they are undoubtedly doing well. 

 They could no doubt be kept for some time in fresh water, as is 

 some times done with seals and sea lions, but they would eventu- 

 ally suffer from the lack of the salts contained in sea water. 

 Porpoises, perhaps of this species, frequently enter the fresh 

 waters of Pamlico Sound through the inlets southwest of Hat- 

 teras, and many species of marine porpoises make long journeys 

 into the fresh waters of rivers. 



The icy water pumped in winter from New York Harbor, 

 generally lower than 40 degrees, Fahr., is much colder than sea- 

 water at Hatteras, and requires to be warmed to about 55 

 degrees. In summer this will not, of course, be necessary. 



Cape Hatteras is the only point in North America where 

 a porpoise fishery has ever been regularly conducted, and where 

 such animals can be taken near the shore and beached with 

 drag seines. The bottle-nosed porpoise winters off our South 

 Atlantic coast and is quite common in the vicinity of Cape Hat- 

 teras during the fall, winter and spring months. Schools of 

 porpoises may be seen passing every day just outside the surf. 

 They are taken with a net of extra heavy twine, about one thou- 

 sand feet long, which is placed about two hundred yards outside 

 the line of surf and parallel with it. At each end there is a boat 

 in waiting, ready to carry the haul lines directly ashore as 

 soon as a band of porpoises has passed between the net and 

 the surf. After the lines have been carried ashore the porpoises 

 are considered fairly secure, for they do not often attempt to 

 cross the haul lines, and even when they do, can usually be 

 frightened back by having someone shake each line continuously 

 while it is being hauled in. It requires considerable time to 

 bring the ends of the big seine to the beach, but even then some 

 of the porpoises may sret away by leaping over the net or 



