THE PORPOISE. (Phocæna vulgaris.)
The Porpoise is one of the cetacea, and nearly allied to the dolphin, but it has not the beaked snout of that animal. The length of the Porpoise, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, is from four to eight feet, and its girth about two feet and a half. The figure of the whole body is conical; the colour of the back is deep blue, inclining to shining black; the sides are grey, becoming white below. The tail is crescent-shaped. There are only three fins, one on the back, and one on each shoulder. The eyes are very small. When the flesh is cut up, it looks very much like pork; but although it was once considered a sumptuous article of food, and is said to have been occasionally introduced at the tables of the old English nobility, it certainly has a disagreeable flavour. Porpoises live on small fish, and appear generally in large shoals, particularly in the mackerel and herring seasons, at which time they do very great damage to fishermen, by breaking and destroying the nets to get at their prey. Their motion in the water is a kind of circular leap; they dive deep, but soon again rise up in order to breathe. They are so eager in the pursuit of their prey, that they sometimes ascend large rivers, and have even been seen above Westminster Bridge. They have no gills, and blow out the water with a loud noise, which in calm weather may be heard at a great distance. They are seen nearly in all seas, and are very common upon the British coasts, where they sport with great activity, chiefly at the approach of a squall.
The Grampus (Phocæna Orca) is a species of Porpoise, and a decided and inveterate enemy to whales; which they attack in great flocks, fastening round them like so many bull-dogs, making them roar with pain, and frequently killing and devouring them. They are usually from twenty to twenty-five feet in length, and in general form and colour resemble the common Porpoise; but the lower jaw is considerably wider than the upper, and the body is somewhat broader and more deep in proportion. The back-fin sometimes measures six feet in length. In one of the poems of Waller, a story (founded on fact) is recorded of the parental affection of these animals. A Grampus and her cub had got into an arm of the sea, where, by the desertion of the tide, they were enclosed on every side. The men on shore saw their situation, and ran down upon them with such weapons as they could at the moment collect. The poor animals were soon wounded in several places, so that all the immediately surrounding water was stained with their blood. They made many efforts to escape; and the old one, by superior strength, forced itself over the shallow into the ocean. But though in safety herself she would not leave her young one in the hands of assassins. She therefore again rushed in; and seemed resolved, since she could not prevent, at least to share the fate of her offspring. The story concludes with poetical justice; for the tide coming in, conveyed them both off in safety; and it is probable, from the great thickness of their skins, that their wounds had not been very deep.
THE SEA-UNICORN, OR NARWHAL,
(Monodon monoceros,)