Year: 1872

Among the near kindred of the whale is the famous unicorn-not the compan- ion of the lion on the British coat-of- arms, but it's counterpart among the wonders of the deep. Inferior of size to the right whale, it has the advantage of a most formidable weapon, with which Nature has provided it for as yet un- known purposes. This is the monstrous tooth which projects from the upper jaw of the animal 1t is as large as mans thigh at the base, turned in a spiral, and sharply pointed at the end :; hollow with in. it shows externally the finest and whitest ivory known to the trade. The Narwhal, or nose-whale, was so called because tho Dutch, who seem to have had the christening of most quaint things in the northern regions, at first took this horn, projecting straight ahead, ten or even fifteen feet, for Q grotesque long nose. Some say the animafuses this odd appendage to pierce holes through the ice when he comes up to breathe others, that he mows off seaweed with it, on which he grazes. There is no doubt that, at times, he transfxes fish with his gigantic stiletto, so that he may be able to devour them at leisure.

 The legend has it, that king of Denmark, wishing to make somebody present of piece of the horn of the unicorn-for such it was long considered ordered one of his high officials to cut off piece of the thicker end of fine specimen which he possessed. The officer did so, and, to his astonishment, found what he had looked upon as q solid horn was hollow, and in the con- cavity he discovered smaller horn of the same shape and the same sub- stance. The latter was about foot long, and this resemblance to the teeth of men first led, it is thought, to the idea that the unicorn might after all be noth- more than Q gigantic tooth. In those days, however, the superstitious people attached marvellous power to the wonder full horn, and'a brisk trade was carried on in fine specimens, and even in broken fragments.

 The male alone possesses this formid- able weapon i; the female having, instead, two small ieeth, of little use for the pur- pose of attack or defense. In the male, however, one of these two is dispropor- tionately developed, while the other re mains of diminuitve size, or disappears gradually altogether, very much as in the case with the claws of certain crus- tacee. At first sight, it would appear as if this giant of the deep, with his terrible sword would be the terror of the seas, killing and devouring all that came near him. On the contrary, however, the narwhal is very harmless animal, and generally his own enemy more than that of others. His mouth has no teeth, and immovable lips, and is SO small that he can swallow little else but mollusks and little fish and Scoresby, who found in the stomach of one of these strange beings ray of two feet in length, came to the conclusion that the fish must have been first transfixed by the tooth, and killed before it was devoured. Other wise it would be difficult to understand how an active fish should have allowed itself to be caught by an animal unable to seize it with the lips or retain it with not even teeth to tear 1t to pieces.

 Their swiftness, when they are alone, is marvellous and their capture would be almost impossible were it not for the curious habit they have of travelling in immense troops, and of taking refuge in little bays, from which they cannot easily escape. Small boats approach them, in such cases, with precaution the poor animals begin to crowd upon each other they press their ranks so closely that soon their movements are impeded, and their enormous weapons become inter. laced, as each one tries to raise the head high in the air. They can neither es cape nor defend themselves, and thus fall an easy prey to the lances of the whalemen. = "Odd Ftsh," in Dublin

 University MaQazine.