THE BOTTLE-NOSE DOLPFHN. 



M 



OIvPHINS, according to the 

 best authorities, inhabit 

 all oceans, and undertake 

 great migrations, but are 

 the only Whales which 

 frequent the rivers or even spend their 

 whole lives in them, or in the lakes 

 connected with them. They are all 

 gregarious, some of them collecting in 

 very large shoals, and roaming about 

 the sea together for weeks and weeks. 

 Their liveliness, playfulness, and lack 

 of shyness have earned them the 

 friendship of sailors and poets from 

 the remotest ages. 



The Bottle-nose Dolphin is one of the 

 best known members of the family. 

 The snout is very long, like a beak, and 

 protrudes from twelve to twenty-four 

 inches. The range of this Dolphin 

 seems to be restricted to the Arctic 

 Ocean and the north of the Atlantic, 

 but it is known to make regular migra- 

 tions a considerable distance south of 

 it. Occasionally it appears on the 

 coast of Great Britain. Cuttlefish, Mol- 

 lusks, and small fry compose its 

 food. 



Kuekenthal declares 



that its diving 



powers are remarkable; 300 fathoms 

 of line were taken off by a harpooned 

 Bottle-nose which remained forty-five 

 minutes under water. They swim 

 with such extraordinary speed that 

 they not only follow the course of the 

 swiftest steamer with ease, but gambol 

 near it on their way, circling around 

 it at will, and without being left 

 behind. Occasionally one of them 

 jerks himself up into the air, and, 

 turning a somersault, falls noiselessly 

 back into the water and hurriedly 

 resumes his former position. 



Several years ago we saw a school of 

 Dolphins swimming and frolicking in 

 the Bast River on the way from New 

 York Bay to Long Island Sound. 

 They seemed to us like gigantic 

 Swine, their motions being similar to 

 those that precipitated themselves, 

 according to the New Testament, 

 into the sea. They are very interest- 

 ing to watch, and travelers find great 

 pleasure in their company in crossing 

 the ocean. Sometimes a small school 

 of Dolphins will play about the ship 

 for days at a time, affording constant 

 amusement to the spectators. 



NEW CHAMPION FOR THE SPARROW. 



The Sparrow has found an unex- 

 pected champion in the Prime Minister , 

 of Fr'^nce. The farmers have recently 

 been agitating in favor of the exterm- 

 ination of the little bird, and succeeded 

 so far that a decree was submitted to 

 Premier Meline for signature, giving 

 orders for the destruction of the bird 

 throughot«l, the country by all available 

 means, iv^fore giving his sanction to 

 the measure the Prime Minister 

 determinird to make an investigation, 

 in the cou/se of which he has received 

 so much information in favor of the 

 birds, especially from the Forestry 

 Department, that he has not only 



refused to sign the decree, but has 

 announced that he is about to take 

 steps to promote the increase of the 

 species in consequence of its useful- 

 ness. It seems that the harm they do 

 to the crops is more than counter- 

 balanced by the benefits which they 

 confer in destroying the Caterpillars, 

 Worms, and other insects that are so 

 detrimental to trees. 



It seems incredible that the matter 

 of the usefulness or noxiousness of this 

 little bird cannot be settled finally by 

 those vested with authority to act. It 

 is either beneficial or a pest. We think 

 it is both, according to circumstances. 



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