DOL 
coilatedj and umbonated ; five of thofe with long 
and arched tails ; and fevcn of that feries which, 
from their figure, are called bullse : to all which 
may be added a: very curious fpecies of fafciated 
Dolium, of a blue colour externally, and v/hite in- 
ternally ; by fome naturalifts called the vitta cceru- 
lea; and of which kind there is an olive-coloured 
ihcll. 
DOLPHIN. The Dolphin, in the Linnsean 
fyftem of zoology, conftitutes a diftindt genus of 
fifties of the order of cete, and clafs of mammalia ; 
the chara6lers of which are, that there are teeth in 
both jaws, and that there is a pipe in the head. 
Hiftorians and philofophers have feemingly con- 
tended, Vvho fnould invent the greateft number of 
fables concerning the Dolphin. In the earliefl: 
ages, it was celebrated for it's attachment to the 
human race, and diftinguiflied by the name of the 
Boy-loving, and Philanthropift. Scarcely could 
an accident happen in the liquid element, but the 
intervention of the Dolphin afforded relief to the 
unfortunate." The mufician Arion, thrown into 
the fea by pirates ; and the boy taking an airing in 
the midftof the fea, and returning again in fafety; 
were obliged to the Dolphin for it's fervices. It 
is not eafy, however, to afTign a reafon for this ex- 
traordinary predilection of the ancients towards this 
creature: it's figure is far from prejudicing us in 
it's favour} and it's extreme rapacity tends flill lefs 
to endear it to us. Indeed, there appears to be no 
qualities in this animal capable of exciting the 
compaffion of the human race, except it's plain- 
tive moanings ; by which, when taken, it fometimes 
indicates it's fenfe of pain, and continues to exprefs 
it till it expires. This circumftance might at firft, 
in all probability, have excited human pity, and 
produced afFecStion. At prefent, however. Dol- 
phins are regarded, even by the vulgar, in a very 
different light: their appearance is generally 
efteemed a very unfavourable omen bv mariners; 
fince, from their boundings and frolics in the water, 
they have often been taught to expeft an approach- 
ing fcorm. 
Neither have the ancients confined their fabu- 
lous reports concerning thefe animals to one cir- 
cumftance only : as, from their leaps out of the 
water, they affume a temporary curvature, which 
is by no m.eans their natural figure, the old painters 
and fculptors have univcrfally erred in their deli- 
neation. Dolphins are fcarcely ever exhibited by 
the ancients in a ftraight fhape, but curved, in 
which pofition they fometimes appear when exert- 
ing their force; and the poets alfo, for whom pre- 
fcription may be pleaded, have adopted the gene- 
ral error. Ariftotle, indeed, of all the ancients, 
fleers the cleareftfrom the intermixture of fable with 
defcription; and gives us in general fo faithful a 
hiftory or this animal, as evinces his judgment and 
fagacity to be fjperior to thofe of all his fucceflTors. 
But the elder Pliny, iEiian, and fome others, have 
fet no bounds to their credulity and fiflion : the 
- former afiTerts that a Dolphin, if taken out of it's 
native element, will inftantly die; v/hile Rondole- 
tius, on the contrary, alTures us, that he has feen 
one carried alive from Montpelier to Lyons. 
The m^oderns, however, have acquired jufter 
notions of thefe animals, and rejefted the various 
fables concerning them which daily experience 
ferves to contradicfl. Indeed, their numbers are 
fo great, and (though naturally fhy) they are fo 
frequendy caught, that fuch peculiarities, were they 
leaiiy polleffed of them, would have been long 
DOL > 
fince afcertained. They are frequently feen in 
fuch large fhoals in almoft all the circumambient 
feas of this kingdom, that they prove noxious, and 
fometimes even fatal, to feamen who navigate fmall 
vefi^els. In fome places, when they rife to the furface 
for the purpofe of breathing, they almofl totally 
darken the water; and particularly, before boifte- 
rous weather, they feem to be much agitated, 
fwimming againft the wind, and tum.bling about 
with unufual violence; but whether thefe motions 
are the gambols of pleafure, or the agitations of 
terror, cannot well be determined. It fecmis mofi: 
probable, however, that they have an iniLinftive 
apprehenfion of thofe feafons of turbulence, when 
the lefler fifiies fhrinking to the bottom, their prey 
no longer prefents itfelf in it's ufual abundance. 
In calm and temperate vveather, they are feen herd- 
ing together, and purfuing flioals of various fifh 
with great impetuofity. The method which they 
adopt in hunting their gam.e, if it may be fo called, 
is to follow in packs, and thus yield each other 
their mutual affiftance. At thofe feafons when 
mackarel, herrings, falmon, and other fifli of paf- 
fage, begin to make their appearance, the ceta- 
ceous tribes are obferved to be more fierce in their 
purfuit, urging their prey from one creek or bay 
to another, deterring them from the fhallows, driv- 
ing them towards each other's amibulli, and ufing 
all the various arts which their inftin6live faculties 
are capable of teaching them. 
But it fomxtimes happens that either the impetu- 
ofity or hunger of the Dolphin, and it's compani- 
ons the porpus and the grampus, in their ufual 
purfuits, urges them beyond the limits of fafety. 
The fiihermen on the Cornifh coafts, who fpread 
their extenfive nets for pilchards, fometimes expe- 
rience a very unwelcome capture in one of thefe 
creatures: on ilich occafions, their feeble nets, 
which are only calculated for the detention of the 
fmaller kinds of fiih, fuffer an univerfal laceration 
from the efforts of this ftrong animal to efcape; 
and, if not difpatched before it has had time to 
flounder, the nets are inevitably deftroyed, and the 
fifhery is interrupted. 
The natural fliape of the Dolphin is almiOil 
fcraight, the back being very flightly incurvated, 
and the body flender. The nofe, which is long, 
narrow, and pointed, fomewhat refembles a bird's 
beak ; and hence it is called by the French L'oye 
de Mer. It has forty-two teeth, each a little more 
than an inch in length, conic at their upper ends, 
fharp-pointed, and flightly bending imvards: they 
are placed fo very little afunder, that when the 
creature's mouth is fhut, the teeth of both jaws 
lock into each other. The fpout-hole is fituated 
in the middle of the head; the back-fin is high, 
triangular, and fomewhat nearer the tail than the 
head ; and the pe6loral fins are placed very low. 
The tail delcribes the form of a crefcent; the fl<in 
is fmooth ; the colour of the back and fides is dufl<y; 
and the belly is whitifh. 
Dolphins were formerly efteemed great delica- 
cies in this country; and Dr. Caius remarks, that 
one of them, caught in his time, was thought a 
prefent worthy of the Duke of Nonfolk, who diftri- 
buted part of it among his friends : it was roafted, 
and drefi!ed with porpus fauce made of crumbs of 
fine white bread mixed with vinegar and fugar. 
Several parts of the Dolphin are applied to me- 
dicinal ufes; namely, the liver, the allies, the belly, 
and the fat. The belly, when dried, triturated, 
and exhibited in fome proper fluid, is faid to cure 
fplenetic 
