1

sign of approaching storms; and, on that account, they are held by them in great detestation. During the most tempestuous weather, they are able to surmount the waves, and to pass along the surface of the ocean, fearless of danger, and secure from injury.

7.

They feed on nearly all kinds of fish, but particularly on such as swim in large shoals, as mackerel, herrings, and cod of different kinds, which they pursue with astonishing voracity. But not only do they seek for prey near the surface of the water; they also occasionally descend to the bottom, and root about among the sand and mud, for flat-fish, sand-launces, and various kinds of marine worms. We are informed, likewise, that whenever a Porpoise happens to be wounded, all the rest of the troop will immediately attack and devour him.

In the river Saint Lawrence, in Canada, these animals are very numerous; and as they generally frequent the shoal-water there, in search of prey, the natives adopt the following method of catching them: when the fishing season arrives, the people collect together a great number of sallow twigs, or slender brauches of other trees, and stick them pretty firmly into the sand.banks of the river, which at low water are left dry: this is done on the side towards the river, forming a long line of twigs at moderate distances, which at the upper end is connected with the shore, an opening being left at the lower end

that they may enter. As the tide rises, it eovers the twigs, so as to keep them out of sight, the Porpoise in quest of his prey, gets within the line, where he continues his chace till he finds by the ebbing of the tide, that it is time to retire into the deeper water. He now makes towards the river; but the twigs being then in part above water, and all agitated by the current, he no sooner sees them shaking about, than he takes fright, and retreats backwards as far as he can, from this tremendous rampart. The tide still continuing to ebb, he returns time after time; but never being able to overcome his dread of these terrific twigs, he rolls about until he is deserted entirely by the water; when those who placed the snare, rash out in numbers, properly armed, and in this defenceless state overpower him with ease. In this manner, more than a hundred of these huge creatures (one of which will yield about a hogshead of oil,) have been killed at one tide.

The Porpoise was once considered as a delicious article of food, and is said to have been occasionally introduced at the tables of the old English nobility. It was eaten with a sauce composed of sugar, vinegar, and crumbs of fine bread. It is however, now generally neglected even by the sailors.

t 1

In America, the skin of this animal is tanned and dressed with considerable care.-At first it is extremely tender, and nearly an inch thick; but it is shaved down till it becomes somewhat

transparent.

It is made into waistcoats and breeches by the inhabitants; and is said also to make an excellent covering for carriages.

THE GRAMPUS.

-Th' enormous Grampus issuing forth
From the pale regions of the icy North,
Waves his broad tail, and opes his ribbed mouth,
And seeks, on winnowing fin, the breezy South;
Now the bold sailor, raised on pointed toe,
Whirls the winged harpoon on the slimy foe;
Quick sinks the monster in his oozy bed,
The blood-stain'd waves encircling o'er his head;
Steers to the frozen North his wonted track,
And bears the fatal weapon in his back.

THE length of this animal is usually from twenty to twenty-five feet. In its general form and colour it much resembles the rest of its tribe ; but the lower-jaw is considerably wider than the upper, and the body in proportion somewhat broader and more deep.

The back fin sometimes measures six feet in length. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in both the Northern and Southern Oceans.

The Grampus is a decided and inveterate enemy of the different species of whales; great flocks of them attack the largest of these, fastening round them like so many bull-dogs, making

them bar out with pain, and frequently killing and devouring them. They are also said to attack and devour the Seals, which they occasionally find sleeping on the rocks; dislodging them by means of their back fin, and thus precipitating them into the water.

From their vast agility they are not often caught. They seldom remain more than a moment above the surface of the ocean, but their eager pursuits sometimes throw them off their guard, and allure them into the shallow waters. In this case, the hungry animal continues to flounder about, till either knocked on the head by those who happen to observe it, or till the tide comes seasonably to its relief. In the poems of Waller, a story (founded in fact) is recorded, of the paternal 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 to 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 deep of the ocean. But, though in safety herself, she would not leave her young one in the hands of the 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 triumph.

OF THE SEAL.

THE Seal, in general resembles a quadruped in some respects, and a fish in others. The head is round, like that of a man; the nose broad, the teeth like those of a dog; the eyes large and sparkling; no external ears, but holes that serve for that purpose; the neck is well proportioned, and of a moderate length-but the body thickest where the neck is joined to it. From thence the animal tapers down to the tail, growing all the way smaller like a fish. The whole body is covered with a thick bristly shining hair, which looks as if it was entirely rubbed over with oil; and thus far the quadruped prevails over the fish. But it is in the feet, that this animal greatly differs from the rest of the quadruped kind; for, though furnished with the same number of bones with other quadrupeds, yet they are so stuck on the body, and so covered with a membrane, that they more resemble fins than feet; and might be taken for such, did not the claws, with which they are pointed, shew their proper analogy. In the fore feet, or rather