THE BOTTLE-NOSE DOLPHIN. 
OLPHINS, 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 East 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 France. 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 foi signature, giving 
orders for the destruction of the bird 
throughout the country by all available 
means. Before giving his sanction to 
the measure the Prime Minister 
determined to make an investigation, 
in the course 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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