morning to our office, and we scratch them | depths, they are enabled to raise them down "for the benefit of all those whom it may concern." THE PORPOISE. selves by a succession of vigorous strokes with great rapidity to the surface. What is termed "blowing" by the whale-fishers is nothing more than the forcible expiration of the breath before the animal has reached the surface. Having retained his breath as long as possible, as he ascends he begins to force out, through his nostrils, the pent-up air, which throws aloft HE cetacea (an order the water in a jet or column. The posiof mammalia compri- tion of the nostrils in the cetacea is well sing the whale, the worthy of consideration. Of little use as grampus, the por- olfactory organs, they are the exclusive poise, &c.) were for- apertures through which the process of merly classed with breathing takes place. In other mammafishes, and in common lia, the nostrils are placed at the extremilanguage still bear ty of the muzzle, but in the cetacea the that ill-applied title. muzzle or snout is always immersed beHence we read of the "whale-fishery," and neath the surface, and can not well be eleof the number of "fish" taken upon any vated. Where, then, can these organs be occasion. The cetacea are not "fish" in conveniently situated? On that part which, any sense of the word. They breathe the as the animal floats, rises naturally above atmospheric air by means of lungs; their the surface. They open on the top of the heart consists of two auricles and two ven- head, and lead, in the whales, into a large tricles; their blood is warm; they bring sack, where the air, before being expired, forth living young, and manifest toward is pent up, and whence it is violently exthem great attachment, nursing and pro- pelled by the compression of powerful tecting them with remarkable assiduity. muscles. The larynx or windpipe is proAs it respects the general form of their longed into the posterior nares, or back of body and the construction of their limbs, the nostrils, in the form of a cone, so that the cetacea differ considerably from all ter- the air is immediately conducted to the restrial mammalia; and the reason is evi- lungs through an uninterrupted channel. dent-their exclusive destination to aquat- As it regards the organs of sight and hearic habits. Terrestrial mammalia are cov-ing, we may observe that, as in fish, the ered with hair, wool, spines, scales, or plates of mail: in the cetacea, we find the skin naked and smooth-a circumstance in strict harmony with their structure and habits. In its general outline, the body has considerable resemblance to that of a There are two other points, of especial fish, being of an oblong form, and termi- interest, which we can not pass over, gennating in a thick, muscular tail, furnished eral as we intend our remarks to be: we at the extremity with a horizontal cartila- allude to the deposition of a layer of oil or ginous paddle. There are no posterior blubber between the skin and muscles, and limbs, and the anterior are modified into to the construction of the vertebræ of the the form of short broad oars, which they neck. There are several uses connected resemble also in their use. But the great with the mode of life of the cetacea which muscular force resides in the tail; its ac- the layer of blubber between the skin and tion is not, however, from side to side, as muscles appears to serve. In the first we see in the fish, but up and down, and place, it tends to render their specific gravthe reason of this arrangement is very evi-ity lighter, a circumstance of some impordent: the cetacea breathe air, and are tance when we consider the immense mass obliged to inspire every few minutes of muscle and bone of which these anihence, plunging as they do into great mals are compacted. It is, however, in the eye is adapted to the density of the surrounding medium, the cornea being flat, and the crystalline lens globular. The external aperture of the ear is very small, and capable of being closed. of herring and other fish which periodically visit our coast make their appearance, they are harassed, among other ene true whales that we find the layer of blubber the thickest. These are animals exposed to the rigors of the polar circle, and it would appear to be a means of preserv-mies, by this active and voracious animal, ing the vital heat of the body, which might perhaps be otherwise unable to withstand the intensity of the cold. This coating is as bad a conductor of caloric as the fur of the white bear. But the blubber has most probably another use also. It is well known that the whale plunges to an amazing depth, where it has to sustain an extraordinary pressure. Now, to prevent this pressure from paralyzing the muscles and disturbing the functions of the internal organs, must be one of the ends to be kept in view in the economy of this gigantic animal. Such a purpose the thick layer of blubber will well subserve, and such is, no doubt, one of its appointed uses. The cetacea appear to have no neck. They have no distinct interval of separation between the head and the trunk, yet, if we examine their skeleton, we shall find that they possess the number of cervical vertebræ common to all mammalia, namely, seven. The neck of the giraffe also consists of seven vertebræ. But, in the one case, we find the vertebræ elongated to the utmost; in the other case the whole seven are compacted closely together, and so compressed as to lose the usual appearance of such bones; they scarcely occupy the space, in length, of a single vertebra of the giraffe. Hence the neck of the cetacea is immoveable and solid. which revels in the luxury of a perpetual feast; and, as its appetite is enormous and its digestion rapid, the slaughter in which it appears incessantly occupied must be very great. The peculiarity of their motion results from the horizontal position of the tail paddle, and the up-and-down stroke which it gives; and their momentary appearance is for the purpose of breathing, which accomplished, they plunge down in search of their food. In former days, the flesh of the porpoise was highly esteemed as a delicacy for the table, and was served at public feasts; indeed, it is but lately that it has fallen into disrepute the turtle usurps its place. Our forefathers must have had a different notion about table delicacies from ourselves; for few, we believe, would now relish the rank, oily, fishy flesh of this animal. THE BOTTLE TIT AND NEST. OW delightful it is, on a fine summer's day, when Nature, clad in her gayest robes, inspires us with The cetacea are divided into several a joyous and hapgroups. Some are herbivorous, as the dupy feeling, the regong, feeding on the submarine vegetables flex of the smile which grow in shallows or near shore; which beams over her own face, to watch most, however, are carnivorous, preying her manifold operations, and remark the on the fish and other tenants of the beauty and discrimination of her proceedocean. To this latter family must be re-ings! Whatever may be the object to be ferred the porpoise (Phocana communis, CUVIER). The porpoise is the smallest of the cetacea, seldom exceeding five feet in length. It frequents, in troops, the bays and inlets of our coast, and especially the mouths of rivers, not unfrequently advancing to a considerable distance up their stream. In such places it is often taken in nets by the fishermen, becoming entrapped while eagerly pursuing its prey. When the shoals attained, how simply, but how effectually, does she proceed to its accomplishment! Behold the delicate downy appendage to the seed of the dandelion (Leontodon Taráxacum)! What a beautiful contrivance for their transportation, and how effectually it provides for the object in view, the propagation of the species in a distinct locality! Trace the operations of the insects buzzing and humming around you, and you will find in each something of interest, something to be admired. Whether we regard the means by which they obtain their food, the structure of their habitations, the peculiar formations of the different species, their habits, or their powers, we shall find in each that perfect adaptation of means to an end with which all the operations of nature are carried on. But if we find ourselves so much interested in our researches into the structure of plants, and the proceedings of the inferior animals, how much more are our feelings excited when we see the feathered inhabitants of the air sporting in the beams of the summer sun, their plumage sparkling, and the whole atmosphere filled with their song! We have no reason to doubt that all animals are formed for enjoyment and are happy in their relative situations, but none appear to us so truly joyous, so overflowing with happiness, as the aërial songsters who enliven our country walks and rural villages from morn until night. How gayly does the swallow glide over the waters of the river-now glancing against the rippling stream, and then darting off on a different tack so swiftly as to serve the poet with one of his most approved similes of velocity. From the first dawning of the day, when the lark rises into the firmament, and strains his throat with his clear song, which we hear even when the eye can no longer discern the songster, to the close of evening, we continually hear some one or other of the sweet-voiced warblers; and even at night the poet's own bird, the nightingale, continually cheers the gloom. Indeed, the appearance of the air, full of birds, has inspired many a poet with some beautiful allusion to their habits and pursuits; and our country walks have ever appeared to us to afford their chief pleasure from the universal gayety which the songs of birds from all sides appear to confer on everything around. And we have derived no little amusement and instruction from our researches into the habits and proceedings of the feathered creation. No part of the economy of nature is so full of the curious results of instinct, almost approaching to reason, which is exhibited in the structure of the habitation provided by birds for their shelter and the preservation of their young. We have been particularly pleased with the delicate structure and peculiar form of the nest of that pretty little bird the "Bottle Tit," or "Long-tailed Titmouse" (Parus caudatus); and as we have an opportunity of presenting to our readers an accurate drawing, from a specimen, of the nest of this bird, we shall proceed to a description of it. It is known by other local names, as "Jack-in-a-bottie," " Bottle Tom," &c. This elegant little animal is about five inches and a half in length. The bill is very short, the head round, and covered with rough erect feathers; it has a very long tail, whence its specific name. It is of a brownish color, with black feathers in the tail edged with white. It is most commonly found in low moist situations that are covered with underwood and interspersed with lofty oaks or elms. Its nest is generally placed in the forked branch of a large tree overhanging the water, and it lays from twelve to eighteen white eggs, spotted with rust color at the larger end, which are smaller than those of any other British bird, with the exception of the golden-crested wren. This bird is almost incessantly in motion, running up and down the branches of trees in search of food, which consists of the smaller species of insects, also the larvæ and eggs of those that deposite them in the crevices of the bark. In the winter they associate in small flocks of from eight to twelve, and sometimes more, and are kept together by their continual chirping. Like the nest, their colors assimilate so nearly with the white moss, abundant on trees at that season of the year, that, were it not for their note, it would be difficult to find them. Owing to the length of tail, its flight is undulating and irregular, but most usually very quick, seeming to pass through the air like an arrow. Jesse remarks that the bill becomes harder in the winter than in the summer, as it is then more worn in the act of obtaining food from the frozen ground and hard wood. The sight of this bird is remarkably acute. It flits with the greatest quickness among the branches of trees, and its food consists in a great measure of small insects only to be discerned with a microscope. |