or DOLPHIN; a genus of fishes belonging to the order of Cete. There are three species.

1. The delphinus, or dolphin. Historians and philosophers seem to have contended who should invent most fables concerning this fish. It was consecrated to the gods, was celebrated in the earliest time for its fondness of the human race, was honoured with the title of the sacred fish, and distinguished by those of boy-loving and philanthropic. It gave rise to a long train of inventions, proofs of the credulity and ignorance of the times. Aristotle steers the clearest of all the ancients from these fables, and gives in general a faithful history of this animal; but the elder Pliny, Aelian, and others, seem to preserve no bounds in their belief of the tales related of this fish's attachment to mankind. Scarce an accident could happen at sea, but the dolphin offered himself to convey to shore the unfortunate. Arion the musician, when flung into the ocean by the pirates, is received and saved by this benevolent fish.

*In illo (sid majus) tergo Delphinae recurvo, Se movantur onere ferti fulgide novo. Ille fedem chlamydique tenens, pristinumque vobendi Cunctat, et agoraei sarmine mulcit agas.*

OVID. Fasti, lib. ii. 113.

But (past belief) a dolphin's arched back Preserved Arion from his destined wreck; Secure he sits, and with harmonious strains Requites his bearer for his friendly pains.

We are at a loss to account for the origin of these fables, since it does not appear that the dolphin shows a greater attachment to mankind than the rest of the cetaceous tribe. We know that at present the appearance of this fish, and the porpoise, are far from being esteemed favourable omens by the seamen; for their boundings, springs, and frolics, in the water, are held to be sure signs of an approaching gale.

It is from their leaps out of that element, that they assume a temporary form that is not natural to them; but which the old painters and sculptors have almost always given them. A dolphin is scarce ever exhibited by the ancients in a straight shape, but almost always... ways incurvated: such are those on the coin of Alexander the Great, which is preserved by Belon, as well as on several other pieces of antiquity. The poets describe them much in the same manner, and it is not improbable but that the one had borrowed from the other:

*Tumidumque panda transitit dorso mare* *Tyrannus omni piscis exultat freta.* *Agiatique gyros.*

Senec. Trag. Agam. 450.

Upon the swelling waves the dolphins flow Their bending backs; then, swiftly darting, go, And in a choufond wreath their bodies throw.

The natural shape of the dolphin* is almost straight, the back being very slightly incurvated, and the body slender: the nose is long, narrow, and pointed, not much unlike the beak of some birds, for which reason the French call it *l'oye de mer*. It has in all 40 teeth; 21 in the upper jaw and 19 in the lower; a little above an inch long, conic at their upper end, sharp-pointed, bending a little in. They are placed at small distances from each other; so that when the mouth is shut, the teeth of both jaws lock into one another: the spout-hole is placed in the middle of the head; the tail is fimbriar; the skin is smooth, the colour of the back and sides dusky, the belly whitish: it swims with great swiftness; and its prey is fish. It was formerly reckoned a great delicacy: Dr Caius says, that one which was taken in his time was thought a present worthy the Duke of Norfolk, who distributed part of it among his friends. It was roasted and dressed with porpelle sauce, made of crumbs of fine wheat bread, mixed with vinegar and sugar. This species of dolphin must not be confounded with that to which seamen give the name; the latter being quite another kind of fish, the *coryphaena hippurus* of Linnaeus, and the *dorado* of the Portuguese.

2. The phocaena, or porpelle. This species is found in vast multitudes in all parts of the British seas; but in greatest numbers at the time when fish of passage appear, such as mackerel, herrings, and salmon, which they pursue up the bays with the same eagerness as a dog does a hare. In some places they almost darken the sea as they rise above water to take breath: but porpelles not only seek for prey near the surface, but often descend to the bottom in search of sand-eels and sea-worms, which they root out of the sand with their noses in the same manner as hogs do in the fields for their food. Their bodies are very thick towards the head, but grow slender towards the tail, forming the figure of a cone. The nose projects a little, is much shorter than that of the dolphin, and is furnished with very strong muscles, which enables it the readier to turn up the sand. In each jaw are 48 teeth, small, sharp-pointed, and a little moveable: like those of the dolphin, they are so placed as that the teeth of one jaw locks into those of the other when closed. The eyes are small; the spout-hole is on the top of the head; the tail fimbriar. The colour of the porpelle is generally black, and the belly whitish; but they sometimes vary. In the river St Laurence there is a white kind; and Dr Borlase, in his voyage to the Scilly isles, observed a small species of cetaceous fish, which he calls *thornbacks*, from their broad and sharp fin on the back. Some of these were brown, some quite white, others spotted: but whether they were only a variety of this fish, or whether they were small grampus, *Delphinus*, which are also spotted, we cannot determine. The porpelle is remarkable for the vast quantity of the fat or lard that surrounds the body, which yields a great quantity of excellent oil: from this lard, or from their rooting like swine, they are called in many places *feu-bogs*; the Germans call them *meerjuchwein*; the Swedes *marfusin*; and the English *porpelle*, from the Italian *porco pesce*.—This was once a royal dish, even so late as the reign of Henry VIII, and from its magnitude must have held a very respectable station at the table; for in a household book of that prince, extracts of which are published in the third volume of the Archaeologia, it is ordered, that if a porpelle should be too big for a horse-load, allowance should be made to the purveyor. This fish continued in vogue even in the reign of Elizabeth: for Dr Caius, on mentioning a dolphin (that was taken at Shoreham, and brought to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, who divided and sent it as a present to his friends) says, that it eat beef with porpelle sauce, which was made of vinegar, crumbs of fine bread, and sugar.

3. The orca, or grampus, is found from the length of 15 feet to that of 25. It is remarkably thick in proportion to its length, one of 18 feet being in the thickest place 10 feet diameter. With reason then did Pliny call this “an immense heap of flesh armed with dreadful teeth.” It is extremely voracious; and will not even spare the porpelle, a congenerous fish. It is said to be a great enemy to the whale, and that it will fall on it like a dog on a bull, till the animal roars with pain. The nose is flat, and turns up at the end. There are 30 teeth in each jaw: those before are blunt, round, and slender; the farthest sharp and thick: between each is a space adapted to receive the teeth of the opposite jaw when the mouth is closed. The spout-hole is in the top of the neck. The colour of the back is black, but on each shoulder is a large white spot; the sides marbled with black and white; the belly of a snowy whiteness. These fishes sometimes appear on our coasts; but are found in much greater numbers off the North Cape in Norway, whence they are called the *North-Capers*. These and all other whales are observed to swim against the wind; and to be much disturbed, and tumble about with unusual violence, at the approach of a storm.

4. The beluga, a species called by the Germans *wit-fisch*, and by the Russians *belugas* both signifying “white fish;” but to this the lait add *morjkaia*, or “of the sea,” by way of distinguishing it from a species of sturgeon so named. The head is short: nose blunt: spiracle small, of the form of a crescent: eyes very minute: mouth small: in each side of each jaw are nine teeth, short, and rather blunt; those of the upper jaw are bent and hollowed, fitted to receive the teeth of the lower jaw when the mouth is closed: pectoral fins nearly of an oval form: beneath the skin may be felt the bones of five fingers, which terminate at the edge of the fin in five very sensible projections. This brings it into the next of rank in the order of beings with the *Manati*. The tail is divided into two lobes, which lie horizontally, but do not fork, except a little at their base. The body is oblong, and rather slender, tapering from the back (which is a little elevated) to the tail. It is quite destitute of the dorsal fin. Its length is from 12 to 18 feet. It makes great use of its... Delphinus, its tail in swimming; for it bends that part under it, as Delphos, a lobster does its tail, and works it with such force as to dart along with the rapidity of an arrow. It is common in all the Arctic seas; and forms an article of commerce, being taken on account of its blubber. They are numerous in the Gulph of St Laurence, and go with the tide as high as Quebec. There are fisheries for them and the common porpoise in that river. A considerable quantity of oil is extracted; and of their skins is made a sort of Morocco leather, thin, yet strong enough to resist a musket-ball. They are frequent in the Dwina and the Oby; and go in small families from five to ten, and advance pretty far up the rivers in pursuit of fish. They are usually caught in nets, but are sometimes harpooned. They bring only one young at a time, which is dusky; but grow white as they advance in age, the change first commencing on the belly. They are apt to follow boats, as if they were tamed; and appear extremely beautiful, by reason of their resplendent whiteness.

astronomy, a constellation of the northern hemisphere.