442 THE PORPOISE. 



pursues its finny prey to the very shores, and, driving among the vast shoals in which these 

 fish congregate, destroys enormous quantities of them. The fish are conscious of the presence 

 of their destroyer, and flee before it in terror, often flinging themselves into the certain death 

 of nets or shallow water in their hope to escape from the devouring jaws of the Porpoise. 

 Even salmon and such large fish fall frequent victims to their pursuer, which twists, turns, and 

 leaps with such continuous agility that it is more than a match for its swift and nimble prey. 

 Not even the marvellous leaping powers of the salmon are sufficient to save them from the 

 voracious Porpoise, which is not to be baffled by any such impotent devices. 



The Porpoise seems to keep closely to the coasts, and is seldom seen in mid-ocean. It 

 appears to be a migratory animal, as the season of its disappearance from one locality generally 

 coincides with its arrival on some other coast. It is very widely spread, appearing to inhabit 

 with equal security the warm waters of the Mediterranean, the cool seas of our own coa,sts, or 

 the icy regions of the high latitudes. 



Many of these animals have been found in our rivers, which they have evidently ascended 

 with the idea of varying their diet by a few meals on fresh-water fish. The combined influences 

 of steamboats and sewerage afford a most effectual barrier to the presence in our rivers of any 

 animal which could in any way remain in the sweet waters of the open sea. It is, nevertheless, 

 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-bom 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 succeed each other. The iris of the eye is yellowish. 



The word Porpoise is corrupted from the French term " Porc-poisson, " i. e., 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 congeal even when its temperature is lowered to 

 fourteen degrees above zero, and its boiling-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 Poipoise was convention- 

 ally considered as a fish, in common with the otter, seal, and certain sea-fowl, by the ecclesias- 

 tical 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 



