204 Delphinid-’e MAMMALIA Delphinid^. 
distressing, that after the third day of their captivity, 
they were, like the former ones, taken from the water 
and cut up.” Porpoises sometimes herd in very large 
numbers, and on these occasions commit terrible 
havoc amongst slioals of lierrings, mackerel, salmon, 
&c. Our conception of tlieir destructive powers is by 
no means lessened when we consider the number and 
form of their teeth (fig. 81) ; there being usually from 
ninety to a hundred of these oi-gans, from twenty to 
twenty-five occurring on either side of each jaw, above 
rig. 81 . 
and below. They are somewhat flattened in form, their 
crowns being also more or less knobed. The flesh is 
esteemed a dehcacy by the Greenlanders, and also by 
the inhabitants of our western isles. In the time of 
Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, it was considered a royal 
fish, and appeared to be much relished by the coiu’tiers 
of their day. 
THE CAAINCt whale {Glohlocephalus deductor). 
- -This species is also known as the IlouxD-IlEAnEi) 
Porpoise, BoTTLE-IlE.in, Social Whale, Howling 
Whale, Black Whale, and in the catalogue of the 
British Museum is given as the Pilot Whale {G. 
Smiievul). As the generic name implies, the upjier 
aspect of the head is globular; the species is fur- 
ther distinguished by its long pectoral flipiiers and 
black skin, the belly and throat being white along the 
central line. The jaws are seldom furnished with 
more than fifty teeth. The Caaing Whales herd in 
large numbers, ilr. Bell states, that an entire shoal 
of seven hundred and eighty individuals was once 
cai)tured at Sumburgh in Zetland ; and between the 
years 1809 and 1810 another shoal came on shore at 
Hvalfiord in Iceland, consisting of no less than one 
thousand one hundred and ten examples, all of which 
were taken. Their appearance off the coasts of Orkney, 
Zetland, and the Faroe Isles, is by no means infrequent, 
and they prove a source of wealth to the inhabitants. 
“ On the ajtpearance of a shoal,” says Mr. Bell, “ the 
sailors endeavour to get to seaward of their victims, 
and gradually closing upon them, drive them onwards 
like a flock of sheep, and urge them by shouts and 
missiles towards the shore ; when one of them, some 
say a loader, being forced on the beach, a curious 
scene of self-immolation is acted by the whole herd. 
They are then attacked by the entire population, who 
despatch them by various means ; and the cries and 
dying struggles of the poor animals, some in and some 
out of the water, the shouts and exertions of the men, 
and the troubled and bloody sea, combine to form a 
scene of no trifling interest and excitement.” Accord- 
ing to Dr. Traill, they blindly follow a single leader, 
which if driven on shore, guarantees the destruction of 
the entire herd, as their mutual attachment will not 
alloAV them to forsake the first victims. Their favourite 
food appears to be various species of cuttle-fish, though 
they also take ordinary fish. They yield excellent oil. 
THE GEAMPUS {Gramjms area) is a large, stoutish- 
built species of whale, measuring upwards of thirty feet 
in length, and having a girth of fourteen feet, or more. 
The anterior part of the head terminates less abruptly 
than in any of the preceding members of this family, and 
the animal is further recognized by its pectoral and 
dorsal fins — the former being broad and rounded, the 
I latter long and elevated. It is an inhabitant of the nor- 
j them seas generally, and very frequently appears upon 
our coasts. The largest which has been taken on these 
shores is that recorded by Lacepede, frorfi notes com- 
municated to him by Sir Joseph Banks. In the words 
of Mr. Bell, this specimen “ occurred in the Thames 
in 1793. Struck b}' three harpoons, he rushed off 
with the boat in which were the persons who had 
struck him, towed it twice to Greenwich, and once as 
far as Deptford, against a strong tide running eight 
miles an hour, notwithstanding the repeated pike 
wounds which he received whenever he appeared 
above water. It was killed opposite Greenwich Hos- 
pital, and its expiring struggles were so violent that 
no boat dared to approach it. It was a very large one, 
being no less than thirty-one feet in length, and twelve 
in circumference.” A specimen taken in Lynn harbour 
on the 19th November, 1830, weighed three tons and 
a half. They pretty frequentlj' rdsit the friths of the 
Tay and Forth; a large number appeared in the latter 
bay during July and August, 1793. The Grampus 
proves very destructive to salmon. 
THE COMMON DOLPHIN Plate 
28, fig. 88 — seldom exceeds seven or eight feet in length, 
though individuals have been occasionally found to mea- 
sure as much as ten feet. It is readily distinguished 
from the foregoing species bj" its almost straight back, 
and by its attenuated, compressed, and prolonged muzzle, 
which bears some resemblance to a beak. The jaws 
are of equal length, and furnished with a very numer- 
ous series of teeth, upwards of a hundred and eighty 
having been counted in some specimens; their form is 
slender, and slightly curved inwards, and they interlock 
during the closed state of the jaw. The Dolphin is an 
inhabitant of the northern seas and the Atlantic Ocean, 
occasionally making its appearance off our coasts. It 
is a remarkably active species; ami, notwithstanding 
its voracious and gluttonous haliits, was formerly high!}' 
esteemed for its flesh. Pennant records, on the autho- 
rity of the celebrated Dr. Cains, that one which was 
taken in his time was presented to the Duke of Nor- 
folk, who distributed portions of it amongst his friends. 
“It was roasted and dressed with porpesse sauce, made 
of crumbs of fine white bread, mixed with vinegar and 
sugar.” The Common Dolpliin feeds principally on 
fish. 
THE BOTTLE-NOSE DOLPHIN {De,phinus Tursio) 
is another North Sea species which has occasionally 
made its appearance on the British shores. Diffi- 
1 culties exist rcsj)ecting its identification. It is dis- 
