UNDER this general title is comprehended the history of that division of marine animals, which in the Linnean arrangement constitutes the seventh order of the class mammalia. This is the order cetæ or whales. Ray and Willoughby have included this order of animals under the class of fishes. Ray, in his arrangement of fishes, divides them into two principal sections. The one comprehends those fishes which are furnished with lungs for respiration; and the other, those which breathe by means of gills, and may be considered as truly fishes. In the former section are included the cetaceous fishes; and the reasons which he assigns for arranging them in this manner are, that they agree in external form with fishes; that they are entirely naked, or covered only with a smooth skin; and that they live entirely in the water, and have all the actions of fishes. Although this tribe of animals Of whales resembles fishes, not only in manners and habits, but by Linnaeus also in being inhabitants of the same element, Linnaeus thought proper to class them with the mammalia. on account of the similarity of their internal structure, having a double heart and warm blood, and respiring like them by means of lungs.

Mr Pennant, in his British Zoology, has objected to the classification of cetaceous animals with the mammalia, as Linnaeus has done, because "to have preserved the chain of beings entire, he says that Linnaeus should have made the genus phoca or seals; and that of the trichecus or manati, immediately precede the whale, those being the links that connect the mammalia or quadrupeds with the fish; for the seal is in respect to its legs the most imperfect of the former class; and in the manati the hind feet coalesce, assuming the form of a broad horizontal tail." On this account, Mr Pennant has arranged the cetaceous order of animals under his class of fishes, including them under the first division of that class. For the same reasons we have separated them from the class of fishes; but although they resemble the quadrupeds, which compose chiefly the class mammalia, in being warm-blooded, and in the functions of circulation and respiration; yet, as they possess characters so totally distinct from any of the mammalia, we judged it more natural to separate them also from this class, and to treat of them in the present article. This tribe of animals is also entitled to a separate treatise, both on account of the interest to be derived from their natural history, and on account of their importance in a commercial view.

The history of cetaceous animals, as well as that of the other inhabitants of the ocean, cannot be expected to be complete. They are beyond the reach of the naturalist, from the nature of the element in which they live; and even when he is favoured with a transient glimpse, the rapidity of their motions precludes the possibility of obtaining much accurate knowledge of their manners and habits. But the abode of the whale is the most inaccessible parts of the ocean. The frozen regions of the north and south are his chief retreat—regions so inhospitable, as to forbid the approach of the most hardy naturalist with all his zeal and ardour, and to be visited only by the adventurous fisherman, prompted by the hope of gain. To the latter, chiefly, we are indebted for what knowledge we possess of this tribe of animals. And from men who had a very different object in view, who, in this hazardous trade, had to struggle with the severest seasons, in a climate where the rigour of winter rarely relaxes, information on this subject could neither be accurate nor extensive. This, however, was the principal source from which the earlier writers on this department of natural history derived their information. Such were Sibbald, Martens, Dudley, Klein, and Anderson, who compiled their descriptions from the relations and memoirs which were communicated to them by fishermen and voyagers. Hence have originated these erroneous and inaccurate details which have been introduced into the works of naturalists.

The name of Cete, as the word which is derived from the Greek language originally signifies, was given indiscriminately to all marine animals of extraordinary size. It has been limited by later naturalists to that tribe of fishes which are distinguished from other fishes by the functions of respiration and circulation, and by being viviparous. These are now included under the general term cetaceous fishes. Beside the discriminating marks of respiration, circulation, and being viviparous, others may be mentioned. In the cetaceous fishes the skin is not covered with scales as in other fishes; there are one or two orifices in the upper part of the head for discharging water; the lateral fins from other fishes are furnished with articulations as in the human hand, and the tail is horizontal. There is another remarkable difference between the cetaceous and other fishes, in the greater quantity of blood, and the thick covering of fat or blubber, for which the former are distinguished. And considering the temperature of the climate, and the element in which these animals live, this seems to be a wise and necessary provision of nature. The great quantity of blood produces a greater degree of heat, and the fleshy porous mass of blubber, being from its nature a slow conductor of heat, is an excellent defence against the rigour of the seas in the polar regions.

In the following treatise, we propose to lay before our readers, 1st, The Classification and Natural History of Cetaceous Fishes; 2nd, Their Anatomy and Physiology; and, lastly, The History of the Whale Fishery as an object of trade. These shall be the subjects of three chapters.

**CHAP. I. Of the Classification and Natural History of Cetaceous Fishes.**

CETACEOUS fishes have been divided into four classes, the characters of which are taken from the want of teeth, from the structure of the teeth, and from their position in one or both jaws. The following table exhibits the characters of these classes, with a translation opposite for the sake of the English reader.

1st, BALÆNA, or Whale.

| Dentium loco laminae cornear | |-----------------------------| | in maxilla superiore. |

In place of teeth there are horny plates in the upper jaw.

2d, MONODON, or Unicorn Fish.

| Dens unicus aut duo in parte antica maxillæ superiores horizontaliter exteri. |

One or two teeth horizontally inserted in the anterior part of the upper jaw.

3d, PHYSETER, or Spermaceti Whale.

| Dentes veri in maxilla inferiore; aliquot vero plani, vis conpositæ in maxilla superiore. |

Teeth in the lower jaw, but scarcely conspicuous in the upper jaw.

4th, DELPHINUS, or Dolphin.

| Dentes in utraque maxilla. |

Teeth in both jaws.

Each of the four classes which we have now enumerated and characterized, comprehends only a single genus, the characters of which are as follows:

**GENERIC CHARACTERS.**

1st Genus, BALÆNA, or Whale.

| Maxilla superior dentium loco, laminis cornearis instructa; fislula duplex in vertice. |

The upper jaw is furnished with horny plates in place of teeth, and there are two blow-holes on the top of the head.

2d, 2d Genus, MONODON, or Unicorn-Fish.

Dens unicus aut duo, longi aut breves, recti vel recurvi, in parte antica maxillae superioris extorti; fistula in occipite.

3d Genus, PHYSETER,

Dentes veri et visibles in maxilla inferiore, in quibusdam vero maxilla superior dentibus planis vix confinis infracta; fistula in angulo superiore rostris.

4th Genus, DELPHINUS, or Dolphin.

Maxilla utraque dentata; fistula in fronte.

In the anterior part of the upper jaw there is one or two teeth which are either straight or curved, long or short; the spout in the back part of the head.

or Spermaceti Whale.

The teeth distinctly seen in the lower jaw, but scarcely visible in the upper jaw; the spout in the upper part of the forehead.

CLASS I. BALÆNA.

Genus 1st, BALÆNA, or Whale.

The body is naked, elliptical, or of an oblong conical shape, and of a black or brownish colour.

The head is very long, laterally compressed, and diminishing towards the beak. The opening of the mouth is very large. The jaws are nearly equal, and without teeth; but in place of teeth, the upper jaw is furnished on both sides with horny plates, transversely disposed. The lower jaw is anteriorly of an oval or roundish form, broader than the upper jaw, and having a furrow on the margin for receiving the horny plates. The eyes are small; they are placed near the insertion of the lateral fins. The ears are also small, and are situated behind the eyes.

In some of the species the anterior part of the body is plicated or folded underneath.

The penis is enclosed in a sheath. The female is furnished with two mammas; and the organs of generation are placed between them. Behind them is the anus.

There are three or four fins; two lateral fins, one at the extremity of the tail, which is placed horizontally. The dorsal fin is often wanting.

Species which have no Dorfal Fin.

CXL. I. BALÆNA MYSTICETUS, the Greenland, or large Whalebone Whale.

French, Baleine Franche. Baleine de grande baie; Spaniards, Vallena; Whalifisch, by the Germans; Whalvissch, Dutch; Hvalfisk, Sleitback, by the Norwegians; Hvalfisk, by the Swedes; Slitcheback, Sandhal, by the Danes; Vatukolr, by the Icelanders; and Arbek, Arbavirkjoak, by the Greenlanders.

In this species the jaws are nearly of equal length; the lower is of an oval form, and broad in the middle; the back is spotted, black and white.

This is the largest of animals known. The body, from a side view, appears of an elliptical form. The head is very nearly equal to one-third of the whole length of the body. It is as it were composed of two inclined planes joined together under a larger or smaller angle, and has something the appearance of the roof of a small house.

In the middle of the line formed by the junction of Blow-holes, the two inclined planes, there rises a large tubercle, in which are situated the spouts or blow-holes opposite to each other, and curved in the shape of the letter S. The jaws are nearly equal in length; the lower is broader towards the middle of its length than the upper; and besides, it spreads out and has membranous coverings, which terminate in a broad deep furrow, which is destined to receive the horny teeth of the upper jaw. When the jaws are close, the opening of the mouth folds upwards towards the orbit of the eyes, and exhibits by its inflection the curved form of a fickle.

The want of teeth is supplied by about 500 horny Whalebones, laminae. This is the substance called whalebone. They are attached to the upper jaw on both sides, and supported at the base by a kind of bone which extends the whole length of the roof of the mouth. They are arranged transversely, and in an oblique direction. Each of them is from three to five feet long, is thickest at the base, tapers towards the point, is a little curved, and terminates in a fringe of long hair which hangs about the tongue. Towards the two extremities of each row, there are besides many other small laminae, which are of a square form, of the thickness of a writing quill, and about four inches long. These latter are arranged in the same direction as the former; but are of a softer substance, and do not come so close to each other.

The tongue is soft and spongy, strongly attached to Tongue, the lower jaw, and rounded at the extremity. On the upper side it is white, but on the sides it is marked with black spots. It is often 10 feet broad and 18 feet long.

The eyes are placed very low, at the broadest part of Eyes, the head, just above the angles of the mouth, and very near the origin of the lateral fins. They are furnished, as the means of defence, with eyelids and eyelashes; and resemble in form and magnitude those of an ox. The crystalline lens, which is white and transparent, is not larger than a pea. The external organ of hearing, Ear, consists of a small hole of the diameter of a quill, which is placed immediately behind the eyes.

The back forms a gentle curvature from the tubercle on the top of the head; towards the middle of the trunk it is again elevated, and then tapers gradually to the tail. The lower part of the body diminishes in the same proportion. The lateral fins have their origin Fins, near the angle of the mouth. They are two large thick masses, of an oval irregular form, and are often 10 feet long. The tail fin is divided into two oval fleshy lobes, which terminate in a point.

The male is furnished with a penis which is eight feet long, and surrounded with a double skin, which gives it something of the appearance of a knife in its sheath. The female has two mammae, which are placed on each side of the organs of generation.

The skin of the whale is divided into the epidermis Skin, or scarf-skin, the true skin, the fat or blubber, and the muscle or flesh. The epidermis is as thin as parch- The back of the whale is usually of a fine black, marked with whitish rays, which have some resemblance to the veins of wood; and in the thickest, as well as the finest of these traces, there pass other veins of a dirty white. This mixture of colours presents an agreeable appearance, especially when the back of the fish is illuminated with the rays of the sun. The different changes of colour from white to yellow then exhibit the splendour and brilliancy of silver.

The under part of the trunk, and of the lower jaw, is of a bright white. But these colours are subject to considerable variation, according to the age of the fish. Some have been observed to be entirely black; others spotted with white, yellow, and brown. Martens assures us, that he observed on the tail of a whale, the number 1222, as neatly traced, as if it had been executed by the hand of a painter. But probably the resemblance to those figures was helped out by the aid of fancy.

Ellis and some other naturalists assert, that the whale is found perfectly white in the western parts of the northern ocean. It is not uncommon to see the young whale spotted with brown; and old whales marked on the back with a transverse band, which extends to the belly. Sometimes, however, the spots observed on the whale have been undoubtedly occasioned by wounds; for it is certain, that a white scar always remains on the place which has been wounded.

The size of the whale has not been very accurately ascertained. Some have been taken of 85, and even of 100 feet long, and almost as much in circumference. The female is in general larger than the male. The period of pregnancy is nine or ten months; and one, very rarely two, is brought forth at a time. The young whale is 20 feet long at birth.

This species of whale is very common towards the north pole, in the seas of Greenland and Spitzbergen, and especially in that part of the arctic sea which lies under the 76th degree of latitude.

The principal food of the whale is a species of helix and different species of actinia. It is not a little surprising that the whale, of such immense size, should feed on such small animals, and should acquire such a quantity of fat as to yield above 150 tons of oil. But according to the testimony of those employed in the whale fishery, these worms are found in such abundance in the seas about Spitzbergen, that the whale has only to open his mouth to receive thousands at once, and then rejecting the water through the fringe or beard attached to the jaws, these little animals remain behind, taken as it were in a net. And indeed, there seems to be a wise provision of nature for the subsistence of this monstrous animal, in impinging on these worms and insects, which are to be his food, a kind of instinct, which guides them to sport about the fringes of the jaws, in the very gulf which is to swallow them up. Linnaeus says that the whale also feeds on medusa. But to this it has been objected, that the medusa are not in sufficient abundance in the northern seas, to furnish the necessary quantity of food for so large an animal. It seems not improbable, however, that the medusa as well as the actinia may form part of its food.

The excrement of the whale has some degree of solidity, and it is of a yellow colour, approaching somewhat to the colour of saffron.

The whale fishery, or rather it might be termed the fishery chase of the whale, constitutes one of the principal occupations of the inhabitants of Greenland. The capture of a single whale is sufficient for the subsistence of a whole family for a long time. The flesh is eaten raw, baked, or after being half rotten, or dried in the heat of the sun; and according to Horrebow, it has a very good taste. The skin, the tail, and the fins, undergo no kind of preparation; for it seems these parts furnish in the raw state, a very delicate morsel to the Greenlanders. The fat is either eaten, or burnt for the purpose of giving light. The intestines are employed to shut up the doors and windows of their habitations; and the tendons furnish thread for sewing, or for the construction of nets. Of the bones the Greenlanders make stools or chairs, and instruments that are used in hunting and fishing. The baleen lines are made of the hair that terminates the horny plates of the upper jaw.

The following are the dimensions of a whale taken towards the north pole, and recorded by M. de Pages in the account of his voyage round the world.

| Dimension | Ft. Inch | |------------------------------------------------|---------| | Total length | 48 | | Circumference of the head, which is the thickest part of the body | 26 | | Length of the head about | 18 | | Length of the jaw-bones | 18 | | Diameter of the orbit of the eyes | 3 | | Opening of the eyelids | 5 | | Distance of the eyes from the opening of the breathing holes | 6 | | Length of the cavity, which includes the penis | 4 | | Depth of this cavity | 8 | | Distance of this cavity from the anus | 1 | | Diameter of each mamma | 6 | | Length of the papilla | 2 | | Diameter of it | 1½ | | Distance of the two lobes of the tail fin, about | 17 | | Depth of the hollow which separates the two lobes | 6 | | Length of the lateral fins | 8 | | Breadth of the same, about | 7 |

2. BALÆNA GLACIALIS, Iceland Whale.

French, Le Nord Caper, Baleine de Sarde; German, Nordkaper; Norwegian, Sildqual, Nordkaper.

In this species, the jaws are nearly of equal length. Specific. The under jaw is rounded, and broader towards the middle of its length. There is no dorsal fin. The back is whitish.

The Iceland whale differs from the former only in Body. The colour and dimensions of the body. The head and horny laminae of the upper jaw are much smaller. The trunk of the body is more slender, and is of a light light brown colour. It has been observed, that the lower jaw of this species is more elongated and rounder than that of the common whale.

As it is very dangerous to harpoon this species of whale, on account of its extreme agility, it is mentioned by Anderson, that the Icelanders have a very ingenious method of taking it. When they perceive the whale in chase of the herrings, they instantly launch their canoes furnished with harpoons, spears, and knives, and endeavour to get between the whale and ocean. They continue the pursuit by rowing, and approach as near as possible. If the wind blow towards the shore, they pour on the sea, a quantity of blood, with which they are always provided, and as it is carried by the waves to the coast, they endeavour to direct it as near to the shore as they can. The whale perceiving himself pursued, attempts to regain the ocean, but when he approaches the blood he is alarmed, and rather than swim across it, he makes his escape to the shores, where he often throws himself on the rocks. But if the wind blow from the land, the fishermen endeavour to get between the whale and the ocean, as in the other case; and when he attempts to make for the deep, they throw stones from their canoes, and shout and make a noise, so that the whale is terrified and is driven on shore. This, however, is contradicted by Horrebow, who remained two years in Iceland, and had good opportunities of being well informed of everything relating to the whale-fishery. He says, that the Icelanders are neither hardy enough to make this hazardous attempt, nor so fortunate or dexterous as to take the whale so easily. The only method which is practised there, he says, is the following: When the boat approaches the whale, the harpooner discharges his harpoon, and the boat instantly retreats. The harpoon is known by having the mark of the proprietor, and when the whale has been successfully wounded, he dies and is thrown ashore. A certain portion belongs to the person who was so fortunate as to inflict the wound, and the remainder is claimed, according to a law of the country, as the right of the person on whose property he lands. According to this author, this is the whole art practised by the inhabitants of Iceland in the whale-fishery.

The Iceland whale yields only from 10 to 30 tons of blubber.—The food of this whale consists of some species of helix, medusa, and herrings.

This whale inhabits the northern ocean, about the coasts of Norway and Iceland.

Klein has made two varieties of this whale, distinguishing them by names derived from that part of the ocean where they are found. 1. Var. Auftralit, which is found in the southern ocean, has the back very flat. 2. Var. Occidentalis, found in the western ocean, which has the back more elevated. The same naturalist has distinguished the Balena glacialis by the name borealis.

**Species which have a Fin or Bunches on the Back.**

3. BALENA PHYSALUS, or Fin-Fish.

French, Le Gibbar; German, Finnfisch; Dutch, Vin- vijch; Norwegian, Kor-hval, Finne-fisk; Greenland, Tummilik; Iceland, Hunfubaks.

The jaws are equal and pointed; the horny laminae of the upper jaw are short, and of a bluish colour. There is one fin on the back.

According to the fishermen, the fin-fish is as long but not so thick as the common whale. When the jaws are shut, the head resembles a cone, which constitutes nearly one-third part of the whole length of the whale, and terminates in a sharp snout. On the top of the head are two respiratory orifices divided longitudinally. This whale, it is said, ejects the water with much greater force than the common whale. The horny laminae of the upper jaw are fringed and disposed in the same manner as those of the preceding. They differ in being shorter, and of a blue colour. The length is from 10 to 12 inches. The long hair which terminates the laminae, is so twisted that the edges of the upper jaw seem covered with a thick cord interwoven together. The eyes are placed very low, nearly in the direction of the angles of the mouth. Towards the posterior extremity of the back, there arises a triangular fin, about 3 or 4 feet high, having the summit bent backwards. The lateral fins are of an oval figure, from 6 or 7 feet long. The tail-fin is divided into two lobes which form nearly a right angle.

This species lives on the herring, the mackerel, a Food kind of salmon frequent in the northern sea, and other small fish.

The upper part of the body is of a shining brown colour. The belly and the under part of the lower jaw are of a splendid white.

This species of whale is found in the Greenland seas, in the European seas, in the Indian ocean, and in the new world. In March 1673, Martens mentions that he saw a whale of this species in the straits of Gibraltar. As the mass of the body constitutes the third or the fourth of that of the common whale, the fat is less thick. It yields, it is said, only ten tons of oil. This whale is therefore less an object of the fisherman's pursuit, for the produce of oil is not equivalent to the expense, the risk, and the danger that attend it.

It has been remarked, that as soon as the fin-fish makes its appearance in the seas round Spitzbergen, the common whale is no longer to be seen.

In Greenland the flesh, the fins, the skin, and the uves, tendons, are employed as food by the poorer inhabitants; and the bones are applied to a great many domestic uses. It is said that the flesh has the same taste as that of the sturgeon.

4. BALENA NODOSA, the Bunch or Humpback Whale.

French, Baleine-tampon; German, Plock-fish; Dutch, Pen-fish.

The lateral fins are white. There is a bunch near the tail larger than the head of a man.

Of this species less is known than of the others.

In place of the dorsal fin, there is a bunch near the tail which declines posteriorly. It is about a foot high, and a little thicker than the human head. The lateral fins are white, placed near the middle of the body, and are 18 feet long. The blubber of the bunch-whale resembles that of the fin-fish. According to Klein, the beard of this species is not held in much estimation, though it is more valued than that of the latter species. It is a native of the seas of New England. 5. **BALENA GIBBOSA**, the Sperm whale.

French, *La Baleine à six bosses*; German, *Knotenfisch*; Dutch, *Knobbelvisch*.

The horny laminae of the upper jaw in this species are white; and there are six bunches on the back.

In external form this species resembles the common whale. It is nearly of the same colour, and yields an equal quantity of blubber. It seems difficult to reconcile this with the specific name given by Klein, viz. *Balena macra*, or lean whale. But it has been supposed that this refers to the muscular parts, which are of smaller size.

The dorsal fin is wanting. Its place seems to be supplied by six bunches or knots towards the tail. The laminae are white, and are found to split with much difficulty.

Like the former, it inhabits the seas of New England.

***Species which have a Protuberance in form of a Fin on the Tail, and Folds on the Belly***

6. **BALENA BOOPS**, the Pike-headed Whale.

French, *La Jubarte*; Greenland, *Keporkak*; Iceland, *Hrafín, Reydis*.

The lower jaw is a little shorter and narrower than the upper. The protuberance on the back is curved and stretching to the tail.

M. O. Fabricius, who was present and assisted at the capture of a whale of this species, has given the following description of it. The body is round and very thick near the lateral fins. It gradually diminishes to the end of the tail, the thickness of which is not greater than what a man can embrace. The head is oblong, inclining, and terminates in a broad obtuse snout. Towards the middle of the head is the protuberance, in the middle of which are the two respiratory orifices, which are so close to each other as to appear to be only one. Before the orifices there are three rows of circular protuberances, of which the use is not known. The lower jaw is shorter and narrower than the upper. The eyes are placed on the sides of the head behind the orifices. The external opening of the organ of hearing forms two holes immediately behind the orbits of the eyes, but are almost imperceptible. The horny laminae of the upper jaw are black, and scarcely a foot in length. They are disposed in the same manner as in the common whale, but the interstices in the fore part of the jaw are not filled up with small laminae. The tongue is large, fat, and fleshy; its colour resembles that of the liver. It is covered with a loose skin, which stretches towards the gullet, where it forms a kind of operculum or covering.

The lateral fins are large, oval, internally entire, rounded, and notched posteriorly, and a little hollowed externally. The tail fin is hollowed or notched in form of a crescent, and terminates in a point. From the lower part of the mouth to the region of the anus, the inferior surface of the body is marked with folds or furrows which unite in pairs, and form angles at the two extremities. The two external furrows are always of the greatest length; and it would appear that the whale has the power of dilating and contracting them at pleasure.

The colour of the upper part of the body is black; the lower part of the mouth and the lateral fins are white; the cavity of the furrows is of a blood red; the interior folds, the belly, and the tail fin, are marked with black and white spots. Under the epidermis is the skin which covers the fat, which in this species is but a thin layer, and consequently yields less oil than the preceding.

When the pike-headed whale takes in food, it opens its capacious mouth, and swallows a great quantity of water along with its prey. It is then that the folds of the skin on the belly are observed to dilate considerably; and then too the contrast between the fine red in the cavity of the furrows, the black colour of the laminae of the jaw, and the bright white on the under part of the mouth, produces a very striking effect.

At every attempt at progressive motion, this species ejects the water by the respiratory orifices, but with less violence than other whales. The moment after, it disappears under the water. And when it plunges and shews the tail-fin, it is considered as a sign that it is going to descend to a great depth, and that it will remain a longer time under the surface. When the sea is calm, it is seen asleep on the surface of the water; and the moment it awakes, it performs a number of different motions with inconceivable rapidity. Sometimes it lies on its side; in an instant it strikes the water with the lateral fins with prodigious force, and then turns on its back. It springs up into the air, and returns to the water in a whirling motion, at a considerable distance from the place from which it arose.

The food of the pike-headed whale consists of a food species of *helix*, a small species of salmon which frequents the northern ocean, and the sand-eel. It has only a single young one at a time. The young whale follows its mother, till another is brought forth; but this does not happen every year.

The slightest wound is observed to occasion the death of this species of whale; for the wound very soon runs into gangrene. The animal often goes to a great distance from the spot where it received the fatal blow. The surest method seems to be to strike with the spear immediately behind the lateral fins; and if it happen that the intestines are wounded, the whale instantly plunges into the ocean.

This species frequents chiefly the Greenland seas, between the 61st and 65th degree of latitude. In winter it appears only in the open seas, but in summer it approaches the shores, and enters the great bays.

The length varies from 50 to 54 feet. Sibbald has given a description of a young one which was thrown ashore on the coast of Scotland. The following are the dimensions of the principal parts of the body.

| Part | Ft. Inch | |-----------------------------|----------| | From the end of the snout to the extremity of the tail | 46 0 | | Greatest thickness at the lateral fins | 20 0 | | Greatest thickness at the dorsal fin | 12 0 | | Greatest breadth of the lower jaw | 4 6 | | Length of the opening of the mouth | 10 0 |

Breadth Breadth of the mouth, 4 o Length of the tongue, 5 o Breadth of this organ at the root, 3 o Length of the pectoral fins, 5 o Breadth of ditto, 1 6 Length of the tail fin, 9 6 Length of the penis, 2 o

7. BALÆNA MUSCULUS, the Round-lipped Whale.

French and Greenland, Rorqual; Iceland, Steipe, Reydus.

In this species the lower jaw is longest and broadest. The protuberance on the back is straight, triangular, and stretches to the tail.

This species resembles the preceding in the form of the body. In both there is a prodigious enlargement of the side of the head, which gradually diminishes towards the tail. The structure of the lower jaw furnishes the principal characteristic distinction. In the pike-headed whale it is pointed; but in this species it is rounded, which gives the head an obtuse shape. The opening of the mouth is so wide, that it will admit fourteen men standing upright at the same time. The upper jaw is narrower than the lower; it is also more pointed at the extremity, and is received into the lower jaw. The tongue is composed of a soft spongy substance; and is covered with a fine membrane or skin. At the base of the tongue, on each side, there is a fleshy mass of a red colour, which shuts up the entrance of the gullet so closely that only small fish can be admitted. The whole palate is covered with black laminae, which terminate at their extremity in a silky hair which hangs over the tongue. The laminae and the hair are of unequal length and breadth. Those which are attached to the anterior part of the jaw are 3 feet long, and 12 inches broad; while those near the entrance to the gullet are scarcely six inches long by one inch broad.

The eyes are placed above the angle of the mouth; they resemble those of the ox. Above the eyes, in the middle of the head, are situated the two respiratory orifices, which are of a pyramidal form.

The pectoral fins are large, a little oval, and tapering; and situated opposite to the angle of the mouth. The dorsal fin is placed directly opposite to the opening of the anus. It tapers a little, and is curved backward. The tail fin is divided into two lobes, which are curved like a scythe, and end in a point.

From the end of the lower jaw to the navel, the under part of the body is covered with rugae or folds, which are two inches broad, having the cavities by which they are separated of the same breadth. The sides are covered with a layer of fat or blubber, 4 inches thick; and on the head and neck, where the fat is more abundant, it is a foot in thickness. The upper part of the body is black, the belly is white.

The herring is the food of this species of whale.

In the month of September 1692, a whale of this species was thrown ashore on the coast of Scotland, as we find it recorded by Sibbald. For twenty years before the fishermen had observed it occasionally in pursuit of the herrings; and they recognised it in consequence of a wound which it had received from a musket. The ball had pierced through the dorsal fin. The following are the principal dimensions, by the same author.

Whole length of the body, from the snout to the extremity of the tail, 78 o Circumference of the body at its greatest thickness, 35 o Length of the lower jaw, 13 2 Length of the tongue, 15 7 Breadth of ditto, 15 o Length of the pectoral fins, 10 o Greatest breadth of ditto, 2 6 Length of the dorsal fin, 2 o Height of ditto, Distance between the extremity of the lobes of the tail, 18 6 Length of the penis, 5 o

8. BALÆNA ROSTRATA, the Piked Whale.

French, La Baleine à Bec.

The jaws are long, narrow, and pointed; the lower jaw is longest. The protuberance which is placed on the extremity of the back, is roundish at the apex.

A side view of the species of whale presents a lengthened oval form, which has the greatest transverse diameter towards the middle of the body. The head constitutes a fourth part of the length of the body, and is of a conical form. The jaws are larger, narrower, and more pointed than in the other species. The upper jaw is the shortest. The eyes are placed a little above the angles of the mouth, and the blowholes are on the top of the head. The laminae of the upper jaw, according to Fabricius, are white and very short.

The lateral fins occupy the middle of the height of the sides; they are broad, nearly oval, and rounded. The dorsal fin is opposite to the anus. It is rounded at the top, inclining towards the tail. The tail fin is divided into two lobes which form by their junction a crescent, the horns of which are directed behind.

The under part of the body, from the point of the lower jaw to the middle of the trunk, is covered with rugae or folds in parallel rows, which stretch on both sides to the insertion of the pectoral fins. The back is black; but this gradually diminishes towards the belly, which is pure white, varied with a mixture of reddish shades.

This species of whale swims with extraordinary velocity. The fat or blubber is very compact, and yields but a small quantity of oil. The fishermen are therefore not very eager in the pursuit of it. But as the inhabitants of Greenland consider the flesh very delicate food, they are often employed in taking this whale. They never approach so near as to strike it with the harpoon; but discharge arrows from a distance, the wounds of which almost always prove mortal.

The food of this whale is the same as of some of the other species; chiefly, the small species of salmon of the northern seas, and the other small fish, which it pursues with such avidity, that they are often seen leaping from the sea to avoid the pursuit. This is the smallest species of whale. It is found most frequently in the Greenland seas; and often also in the European. One which was taken on the Dogger bank, measured 17 feet in length. It had lost the dorsal fin, and by some other accident the jaws were so swelled, that the head formed a mass specifically lighter than water, and therefore did not sink in that element.

Class II. MONODON.

Genus 1st. MONODON, Unicorn-fish, or Sea-Unicorn.

The body is naked, oval, oblong, round and spotted. The head is small, and not easily distinguished from the rest of the body. There is only one respiratory orifice, which is placed on the top of the head, and shut up by a covering cut in form of a comb. The opening of the mouth is small. There are no teeth in the mouth; but from the upper jaw there proceeds, inclining sometimes to the right side, and sometimes to the left, one long tooth which is twisted in a spiral form. There are rarely two; but when that is the case, they are nearly of the same length; and there is only one species which has the teeth curved at the extremity. The eyes and ears are very small. The penis of the male is enclosed in a kind of sheath; and the female has two mammary on the belly, between which are the organs of generation.

There are three or four fleshy fins; two pectoral fins; one at the extremity of the tail; and that of the back is often replaced by a projection which runs its whole length.

Species.

Plate CXL. 1. MONODON MONOCEROS, the Narwhal, or Unicorn-Fish.

French, Narhual, Licorne de mer; Norwegian, Lighual; Iceland, Narkwal; Greenland, Tavuar.

One tooth in shape of a horn, inserted in the upper jaw, and spirally twisted; there are rarely two.

There is no tail fin.

The body of the narwhal is oblong and oval; the back broad, convex, and tapering towards the tail; the head is round, small, enlarged at the top, and terminates in an obtuse rounded snout. There are no teeth; but a long twisted tooth, which is attached to the upper jaw. It was long supposed that this bony instrument of defence was the horn of a very rare quadruped, and consequently it was sold at a very high price. Each tooth is from nine to ten feet in length, and possesses some of the properties of ivory. It is however easy to distinguish them. The fibres of the tooth of the unicorn-fish are finer than ivory; it is more compact, heavier, and less apt to become yellow. The narwhal is rarely furnished with more than one tooth, but under the common skin of the head on the other side, the rudiments of another may be observed. There have been, however, different examples of two teeth, and both nearly of the same length. In the year 1604, a female having two teeth was taken, and the bones of the head, with the teeth inserted, were brought to Hamburg. The two teeth proceeded in a right line from the anterior part of the skull. At the place of insertion they were only two inches asunder, but gradually diverging, they were separated at the extremity 18 inches. The left tooth was 9 inches in circumference, and 7 feet 5 inches long. The right was seven feet long, and eight inches in circumference at the base. Both teeth entered 13 inches into the bones of the head, which was two feet long, and 18 inches broad.

The opening of the mouth is in general very small; not larger, according to some, than to admit the hand of a man. The tongue is nearly of the same size. The head ends in a rounded snout. The lower lip is thin, and shorter than the upper.

The eyes are placed opposite to the opening of the mouth; and they are surrounded by a kind of eye-lid. On the top of the head there is one respiratory orifice, which may be shut and opened at pleasure by means of a fringed covering.

The pectoral fins are about a foot long, and eight inches broad. The fin of the tail is divided into two obtuse oval lobes. In place of the dorsal fin, there is a ridge or projection about nine inches high, which extends from the breathing hole on the head to the base of the fin, which terminates the trunk of the body, and diminishes gradually in height as it approaches to the tail.

The skin is about one inch in thickness. The colour is of a grayish white, marked with a great number of black spots which seem to penetrate the substance of the skin. The skin of the belly is of a shining white, and soft as velvet to the touch.

The oil which the unicorn-fish yields is in small quantity, but it is considered to be of a superior quality to that of the Greenland or common whale. The food of this fish is one of the species of the Pleuronectes, and some species of helix.

The length of the unicorn-fish is from 20 to 22 feet, the circumference about 12 feet. According to some authors indeed, some fish have been found 60 feet long. It inhabits chiefly the northern seas of Europe and America, about Davis straits, and the coasts of Iceland.

It would be difficult to take this fish singly and in the open sea; for they are excellent swimmers, and move with astonishing velocity by means of the tail-fin. But as they live in very cold climates, and cannot remain long under water without resurfacing, they frequent the bays that are free of ice. In these places they crowd together in such numbers, that they force their teeth into the body of each other; and in this situation they can neither plunge into the deep water, nor avoid the pursuit and blows of the fishermen.

There is no part of this fish which is not applied to uses of some useful purpose by the inhabitants of Greenland. They are extremely fond of the flesh, which they eat roasted or dried in the smoke. The intestines also are regarded as a very delicate food. They are also roasted. The fat affords an oil for burning. From the gullet they obtain bags or bladders which they employ in fishing. The tendons are made into excellent thread or small cords. Of the teeth they make several instruments which are used in the chase, or stakes for the construction of their huts.

The kings of Denmark have a most magnificent Magnificent throne, which is entirely composed of the teeth of the most unicorn-fish. It is preserved in the castle of Rosenborg; and it is esteemed of greater value than if it were made of gold.

It has been affirmed by some naturalists, that there have have been found individuals of the unicorn fish having protuberances on the back, and that in others the teeth were not spirally twisted, but smooth from the base to the extremity. Should these differences turn out to be uniform and constant, other species beside those already known must be admitted.

2. MONODON SPURJUS, the Spurious Narwhal or Unicorne-fish.

French, L'Anarnak.

In this species there are two small curved teeth in the upper jaw, and one fin on the back.

This species, which has been described by Fabricius in his Fauna Greenlandica, properly belongs to the genus Monodon, at least the characters correspond more nearly to this genus than any other. The body is oblong, rounded, and of a black colour. There are no teeth in the mouth; but to the upper jaw are attached two small teeth which are of a conical form, a little curved at the extremity, and about one inch long. Beside the two pectoral fins, there is a small one on the back.

This species is one of the smallest fishes belonging to this class. It respites like the other cetaceous fishes by a breathing hole on the top of the head.

It rarely happens that the tail-fin is seen when it plunges into the water; but when it respites the air, it rises above the surface of the sea as high as the insertion of the pectoral fins.

The flesh and fat are found to have a violently purgative effect. From this property the Greenlanders have given it the name of Anarnak, which is adopted by the French naturalists.

It inhabits chiefly the open sea, and very rarely approaches the shores. It is most commonly found in the Greenland seas.

CLASS III. PHYSETER.

Genus 1st, PHYSETER, Spermaceti Whale.

The body is naked, sometimes oval, and sometimes in the form of a lengthened cone. The head is very thick, anteriorly truncated, and occupying nearly one half or one third of the whole length of the body. There is only one breathing hole, which is placed on the snout. The jaws are unequal. The lower is shorter and narrower, and it is furnished with teeth which are sometimes of a conical form, and sometimes blunt; sometimes straight, but often curved in form of a sickle. In the upper jaw there are corresponding cavities. It is also furnished with teeth, but they are flat, lie horizontally, and are scarcely visible.

The eyes are small, and are situated near the insertion of the pectoral fins. The external opening of the organ of hearing is very small, and not easily detected.

The penis, as in the other classes, is included in a sheath. The female has two mammas situated in the abdomen, and between them are placed the parts of generation, near which is the external opening of the anus.

There are three fleshy fins. Two of these are the pectoral; and the third is at the extremity of the tail. The place of the dorsal fin is occupied by a false fin, and often by a kind of callosity.

SPECIES.

1. PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS, the Large Spermaceti Whale,

French, Cachalot; Germ. Pottfisch; Dutch, Potvisch; Plate CLX.; Norweg. Kafkelot, Potfisk, Trold Hval.

There is a curious fin on the back. The teeth are Characters curved, and a little pointed at the extremity.

Of all the species belonging to this genus, this, on account of its great bulk, is entitled to the first place. The head, which occupies the third part of the body, is a large mass of a square form, angular at the sides, and truncated before. The upper is of much greater length than the lower. It is also broader, its edges forming a very considerable projection, and folded back towards the centre, where there is an oval longitudinal cavity destined to receive the lower jaw. The lower jaw is furnished on each side with a row of strong conical teeth, a little curved towards the mouth, and projecting from the alveolar process about one and a half inches. The two teeth at the anterior extremity of the jaw, and the four which terminate on each side the two rows, are smaller and more pointed. The colour of them externally approaches to that of ivory; but internally they are less hard and compact, and are of an ash colour. It has been supposed that the teeth become longer, thicker, and more curved, in proportion to the age of the animal. The ordinary length is about five inches, and three inches in circumference at the base. The upper jaw is furnished with as many cavities as there are teeth in the lower jaw; but, in the interstices which separate these cavities, there are about 20 small teeth placed horizontally, and raised a little above the flesh. These teeth are sharp on the side opposite to the place of insertion, but present a smooth, plain, and oblique surface, which fills up the interval that separates the cavities. This oblique surface is only visible; the rest of the tooth is covered with flesh. And from not attending to the form and disposition of these teeth, it has been generally said that the spermaceti whale had none in the upper jaw.

The tongue is a mass of flesh of a square form, and of a livid red colour, which fills almost the whole of the bottom of the mouth.

The breathing holes, passing diagonally through the head, unite into one at the superior extremity of the snout, where the opening is about five inches diameter.

The eyes are black, very small when compared to the bulk of the body, and surrounded with a strong short hair, which is not very perceptible. The opening of the ears is not easily detected. It is placed behind the orbit of the eyes, on a cutaneous excrescence between the eyes and the pectoral fins.

The head is separated from the trunk by a transverse groove, which extends to the place of insertion of the pectoral fins. These fins are of an oval form, three or four feet long, and three inches thick.

On the back there is a callosity which extends two-thirds of the whole length. It rises several inches above the surface, and is slightly inclined. Where it terminates behind it is truncated.

The organs of generation resemble those of quadrupeds. The penis of the male is enclosed in a sheath. On each side of the same organs in the female are placed the mammae, which are four or five inches long.

The tail, which is small for the size of the fish, terminates in a fin, which is divided into two lobes, hollowed out in form of a sickle.

The back is black, or of a slate blue, spotted with white. The belly is also white. The fat or blubber, which lies immediately under the skin, is about five or six inches thick on the back, and rather less on the belly. The flesh is of a pale red, like that of pork. The head, though very large, is the least fleshy part of the body. But it yields the substance called spermaceti, in great abundance. This seems to vary in colour according to the climate in which the whale has lived.

The food of the spermaceti whale is the dog-fish and the lump fish.

This whale swims with great velocity; and he often appears on the surface of the water. It is at this time that the fishermen take the opportunity of striking him with their spears; and it often happens, that the parts of the body which have been wounded become gangrenous, and fall off before the death of the animal.

The flesh, the skin, the fat, and the intestines, are applied to the same purposes as those of the unicorn-fish. The tongue, roasted, is reckoned excellent food; and of the different bones of the body beside the teeth, instruments for the chase are made.

This whale inhabits chiefly the Greenland seas and Davis straits; but occasionally is found on the European shores to the southward. In the year 1784, in the month of March, 31 of these fishes came on shore on the western coast of Audierne in Lower Brittany in France. The following are the dimensions of one of these taken at the time.

| Feet. In. | |-----------| | Total length, | 44 6 | | From the anterior extremity of the snout to the eyes, | 8 0 | | From the eyes to the pectoral fins, | 3 0 | | From the pectoral fins to the organs of generation, | 19 7 | | Length of the tail, | 6 9 | | Distance of the lobes of the tail, | 10 0 | | Circumference at the greatest thickness | 34 8 | | Length of the upper jaw, | 5 0 | | Lower jaw, | 4 6 | | Opening of the mouth, | 3 10 | | Breadth of the snout, | 5 0 |

2. Physeter catodon, the Small Spermaceti-Whale.

French, Le Petit Cachalot; Norwegian, Swine-Hual; Greenland, Kegutilik.

In this species, there is a rough spurious fin on the back. The teeth are curved and blunt. Without attending to the form and disposition of the teeth in the cetaceous fishes, the characteristic marks are often ambiguous. All naturalists agree, that the characters taken from the teeth are the most certain, because they are most constant and uniform in structure and appearance, and less subject to those variations which age and climate seem to produce. This species is, in this manner, easily distinguished from the others. The head is of a round form; the opening of the mouth is of moderate size; the lower jaw is longer, but not so broad as the upper. It is furnished with a row of teeth on each side; and these correspond to the cavities in the upper jaw, which receive them. There is a peculiar structure of the teeth in this species. That part of the tooth which rises above the gum has a greater thickness than where it is inserted into the jaw; and besides, each tooth is flat at the top, and marked with concentric lines. The longest teeth are two inches in length, and about an inch in circumference at the greatest thickness.

Sibbald has mistaken the breathing holes for nostrils; and this seems to have arisen from the position of the breathing holes near the snout of the fish.

This species is chiefly an inhabitant of the northern seas.

Towards the end of the 17th century, 102 of this species came on shore at Cairnston in the Orkney islands. The longest was 24 feet.

3. Physeter trumfo, the Spermaceti Whale.

French, Le Cachalot de la Nouvelle Angleterre; Le Trumbo.

This species is distinguished by a bunch on the back, and having the head straight and pointed.

The head of this species is of an immense size. It divides the body nearly into two equal parts. The upper jaw is much longer and thicker than the lower, which is furnished with 18 teeth, straight and pointed, about three inches distant from each other; and when the mouth is shut, they are received into cavities of the upper jaw.

The eyes are small. The breathing hole is at least a foot in diameter, and it is placed at the superior extremity of the snout.

The thickest part of the body is near the insertion of the pectoral fins. These are very small, and that of the tail is divided into two lobes. In place of the dorsal fin, there is a bunch on the back which is more than a foot thick. It is placed nearly opposite to the parts of generation.

The skin is of a grayish colour, and very soft to the touch. The length of this whale varies from 48 to 60 feet.

It is chiefly an inhabitant of the seas which wash the shores of New England.

An individual of this species landed in the year 1741, near Bayonne in France. It yielded ten tons of spermaceti, which was reckoned of a superior quality to that of the large spermaceti whale. In the stomach of the same whale was found a round mass of seven pounds weight, which was taken for ambergris.

The substance called spermaceti is lodged in particular cells in the head near the seat of the brain. It is extracted by making a hole in the skull.

It has been observed by some naturalists that this whale is more agile and more dangerous than any other of the species. When it is wounded, it is said that it throws itself on its back, and defends itself with its mouth.

Mr Pennant has described this under the name of the blunt-headed whale (Physeter Microps, Lin.). But if we attend to the form of the body, the structure of the head, the number and structure of the teeth, it seems to constitute a distinct species.

Dimensions of the Spermaceti Whale thrown ashore near Bayonne.

| Total length | Feet Inches | |--------------|-------------| | Greatest circumference at the eyes | 49 0 | | From the extremity of the tail fin to the opening of the anus | 27 0 | | Length of the penis | 14 0 | | Sheath which encloses it | 4 0 | | Diameter of the penis | 1 6 | | Distance of the extremities of the two lobes of the tail | 0 7 |

4. Physeter Cylindricus, the Round Spermaceti Whale.

There is a bunch on the back; the teeth are curved and pointed at the top; the breathing hole is in the middle of the snout.

The form and relative situation of the trunk and head, the position of the breathing-hole, the relative length of the jaws, the number and structure of the teeth, and especially the size of the dorsal fin, present differences which sufficiently distinguish this from the following species. The body is cylindrical, from the extremity of the snout to a line drawn perpendicular to the place where the penis is inserted, and from thence to the tail fin it gradually diminishes. The head is at least the third of the whole length of the body. The profile of the head presents a kind of parallelogram. The jaws are nearly of equal length. On each side of the lower jaw there is a row of 25 curved, sharp-pointed-teeth. The breathing-hole is placed at the superior extremity of the snout. The dorsal fin is replaced by a bunch, 18 inches high, and four and a half inches long at the base. The tail fin is divided into two lobes, forming a kind of crescent.

One of this species is described by Anderson, which was 48 feet long, 12 of perpendicular height, and 36 in circumference, at its greatest thickness.

5. Physeter Microps, the Black-headed Spermaceti Whale or Cachalot.

French, Cachalot Microps, Cachalot à dents en Faucille; Norwegian, Staur-Hyming; Greenland, Ti-sagufik.

In this species there is a long straight fin on the back. The teeth are curved, the point is at first directed to the mouth, and then turns outwards.

The description of naturalists who have treated of this species of whale are greatly confused; and this probably arises from not having attended sufficiently to the form of the teeth. According to Fabricius, there are only 22 teeth in the lower jaw, 11 on each side. All these teeth are curved, having the concave side towards the mouth, and are sunk in the jaw-bone, two-thirds of their whole length. The external part of the teeth is white as ivory, of a conical form; and the point, which is sharp, inclines a little outwardly. That part of the tooth which is sunk in the jaw is compressed on two sides, and furrowed on that side next to the gullet. The Greenlanders say that this whale has teeth in the upper jaw; but this is not clearly ascertained. Perhaps they are only flattened teeth, similar to what we have described in the great spermaceti whale. Each tooth extends to a finger length, and is about one and a half inch broad. The longest occupy the middle part of the jaw. The smaller are at the extremities. The snout ends in a blunt surface; and, according to most naturalists, the upper jaw is the longest.

The pectoral fins are about four feet long. What occupies the place of a fin on the back is of considerable height, and has been by some naturalists compared to a long needle.

This whale is the declared enemy of some of the other whales, as the pike-headed whale and the porpoise, which it pursues as its prey. In Greenland the flesh of this whale is greatly esteemed, even more than that of any of the other species. It is rarely taken with the harpoon.

It inhabits chiefly the northern ocean.

6. Physeter Mular.

French, Le Cachalot Mular.

This species is distinguished by a very elevated fin on the middle of the back. The teeth are slightly curved and obtuse.

This species resembles the former in the general structure of the body. It differs in the form of the teeth, which are less curved, and are obtuse. The longest, which are eight inches in length, and nine inches in circumference, occupy the front of the jaw. The others are only six inches long. Sometimes the teeth are found to be hollow, and sometimes they are solid. Is this owing to the difference of age in the individuals in which it has been observed? Beside the pectoral fins, that which is placed on the back is very remarkable on account of its length. Sibbald compares it to the mizzen-mast of a vessel.

According to Anderson, this species is farther distinguished by having three bunches or protuberances towards the extremity of the back: the first is 18 inches high; the second, six inches; and the last only three inches. The same historian has observed, that he was informed by the captain of a ship, that he saw on the coast of Greenland, a great number of this species of whale, at the head of which was one of 100 feet long, which seemed to be the leader; and which, at the appearance of the ship, gave such a terrible shout, spouting water at the same time, as to shake the vessel. At this signal, the whale made a precipitate retreat.

This species is gregarious, and frequents the seas about the North Cape. They are but rarely taken; for they are very wild and difficult to wound. It appears, that the harpoon can only pierce them in one or two places near the pectoral fins.

The fat or blubber is very tendinous, and yields but a small proportion of oil.

Class IV. DELPHINUS.

Genus ii, Delphinus, the Dolphin.

The body is naked, oval, or of an oblong conical shape, of a blue colour, inclining to black. The head characters is conical, diminishing gradually towards the snout. The breathing-hole, which is on the top of the head, is in form of a crescent, the horns of which are directed towards the snout. The jaws are of equal length, sometimes beaked, and sometimes rounded. They are furnished with teeth, which are conical or compressed, pointed or obtuse, and in some species notched.

The eyes are placed near the angles of the mouth. The pupil of the eye is black, and the iris white. The external opening of the ears is situated behind the eyes. The nostrils terminate in the snout.

The penis of the male is included in a sheath; and the mammary of the female are attached to the belly; and between them are the organs of generation.

There are four fins; two are pectoral; there is one on the back, and one at the extremity of the tail. In one species only the dorsal fin is wanting.

SPECIES.

1. DELPHINUS PHOCÆNA, the Porpoise or Porpoise.

French, Le Marlonin; Spanish, Marjupa; Dutch, Bruinvloch; German, Meerfischwein, Braunfisch; Danes, Marvvin, Tunner; Norweg. Nife; Greenland, Nyfa.

The form of the body is conical. The dorsal fin is triangular. The snout is pointed. The teeth are enlarged at the summit, rounded and cutting.

The body of this fish is round, thick, and diminishes towards the tail. The head resembles an obtuse cone. It is swelled out towards the top above the orbits of the eyes. It then gradually diminishes, and ends in a sharp snout.

The eyes are placed opposite to the opening of the mouth; and the pupil of the eye, which is black, is surrounded with a white iris. Behind the eyes there is a small round hole, about one inch in diameter: This is the organ of hearing. The nostrils are placed between the breathing hole and the extremity of the snout. The breathing-hole is situated on the top of the head, in a line perpendicular to the interval between the eyes and the angles of the mouth.

The pectoral fins are attached to the edges of the lower surface of the body. The dorsal fin is triangular, and is situated very nearly on the middle of the trunk. Directly under the dorsal fin on the belly are the parts of generation. The anus is situated at an equal distance between the parts of generation and the tail fin.

The length of the porpoise is from four feet to six and eight. This fish is an excellent swimmer. When it rises to the surface to respire, the back only appears; the head and tail are kept under water. But when it is dead, it becomes straight.

It feeds on small fishes, and pursues them with inconceivable rapidity.

The porpoise is generally gregarious; this is particularly the case in the time of copulation in the month of August. It is not unusual to see at that time fifteen males in pursuit of one female; and so eager are they in the chase, that they are often thrown ashore. The female goes with young ten months, and brings forth one at a time. At birth the young one is of considerable size, and it constantly follows the mother till it is weaned. When a pregnant female is killed, it has been observed that the tail of the foetus is seen thrust through the navel of the mother. This is supposed to be occasioned by the spasmodic contraction, produced by the efforts of the mother in the struggles of death.

The flesh of the porpoise has a disagreeable oily taste. It is however used as food by the inhabitants of Lapland and of Greenland. In Greenland they suffer it to undergo some degree of putrefaction to make it tender, and then they prepare it by roasting or boiling. They use the skin, the fat, and the entrails for this purpose. The Dutch and the Danes take the porpoise only for the extraction of the oil.

The porpoise inhabits those places which are sheltered by rocks and bays, and is oftener seen in summer than in winter.

2. DELPHINUS DELPHIS, the Dolphin or Bottle-nose Whale.

French, Dauphin; German, Meerfischwein, Tummelr; Dutch, Dolphin Tuymelar; Norwegian, Springer; Iceland, Leipir.

The body is nearly oval. The dorsal fin is curved at the top. The snout is flattened and sharp. The teeth are cylindrical and pointed.

The greatest thickness of the dolphin is at the insertion of the pectoral fins; from which the body gradually diminishes towards the head and tail, and thus has the oval form. The head enlarges at the top like that of the porpoise; but, in the dolphin, it diminishes in thickness, and ends in a flatted beak, like that of a goose. The jaws are of equal length, and furnished on each side with a row of cylindrical teeth, a little pointed at the end, and projecting near one and a half inches above the gum. It would appear that the number of teeth varies according to the age and sex. Klein has reckoned 96 in the upper jaw, and 90 in the under. Mr Pennant, on the contrary, mentions that he saw 10 teeth in the latter, and 21 in the former. Forty-seven teeth have been observed by others in each jaw.

The eyes are placed almost in the same line with the opening of the mouth. The breathing-hole is on the top of the head, opposite to the orbit of the eyes. It appears in form of a crescent, the horns of which are directed towards the snout.

The pectoral fins are oval, and inserted at the under part of the breast. The dorsal fin occupies the middle of the body. It is curved backwards at the extremity. The tail fin is divided into two lobes, the one of which folds over the other.

The upper surface of the body is black; the breast is white. From under the eyes on each side passes a white ray, which stretches towards the pectoral fins.

The dolphin is almost always an inhabitant of the open seas, and very rarely approaches the shore. His motions are inconceivably swift; and hence he has been named by the mariners, the arrow of the sea.

The length of the dolphin varies from five to nine or ten feet.

The description which has now been given, has little relation to the fanciful accounts which have been detailed of this fish, or to the imaginary representations by the ancient painters and engravers. On the pieces of money which were in circulation in the time of Alexander the Great, and are preserved by Belon, as well as on other medals, the dolphin is represented with with a very large head, a spacious open mouth, and the tail raised above the head.

No animal has been more celebrated by the ancient poets and historians than the dolphin. From the earliest ages he was considered as consecrated to the gods, and honoured as the benefactor of man. Pliny, Athenian, and other ancient authors, speak highly of his attachment to mankind. The younger Pliny has written a charming story of the loves of a dolphin for Hippus; and Ovid relates with all the beauties of poetry, the story of the musician Arion, who being pursued by pirates and thrown into the sea, was rescued and saved by this kind animal.

*Inde (side majus) tergo delphina recurvo, Se memorant onere fuppuluisse novo. Ille sedens cultaramque tenet, pretiumque vehendi Cantat, et aquoreas carmine mulcet aquas. Di pia faëta vident. Afris delphina recipit Jupiter; et stellas jussit habere novem.*

OVID. Fasti, lib. ii. 117.

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. The gods approve: the dolphin heaven adorns, And with nine stars a constellation forms.

But after all these fabulous accounts of the dolphin by the ancients, and the prefaces drawn by the modern sailors from their movements, it does not appear that this species of fish is endowed with more sagacity than any other of the cetaceous fishes, or discovers greater attachment to man. What may have been the foundation of these fables, it is not our present object to inquire. It is true, that the dolphin and others of the cetaceous fishes accompany ships for several days together. But this seems to be in search of food, on account of the offals of animal matters that are thrown overboard.

3. DELPHINUS TURSIO.

Greenland, Neiarvak; French, Le Naïarvak.

The form of the body is conical. The dorsal fin is curved. The snout is compressed above. The teeth are straight and blunt.

The greatest thickness of this species is between the dorsal and pectoral fins. From this to the extremity of the tail the body becomes gradually more slender.

The breathing hole, which is placed above the orbits of the eyes, is about 1½ inches in diameter. The anterior part of the head is inclined and rounded, and terminates in a flat beak. The lower jaw is the longest. Both jaws are furnished with 42 cylindrical teeth, which are disposed in a single row.

The pectoral fins are very low, and are of a falciform shape. The dorsal fin rises like an inclined plane, and is incurved behind. At the posterior base of the latter fin there arises a projection which stretches to the tail. The tail fin is divided into two lobes in form of a crescent.

The upper part of the body is black; the belly is white.

It has been observed by some naturalists, that when this species rises to the surface to respire, a great part of the body appears above water. It inhabits the open seas, and is consequently taken with difficulty. The flesh, the fat, and the entrails, are eaten in the same way as the porpoise.

4. DELPHINUS ORCA, the Grampus.

French, Epaulard; Norwegian, Spek-Hugger; Hval-Hund; Dutch, Botkop; Iceland, Huyding; Swedes, L'Opare.

The body is nearly oval. The dorsal fin is very high. The teeth are conical and slightly curved.

The profile of the grampus is oval and oblong. The greatest thickness is about the middle of the trunk, from which it gradually diminishes towards both extremities. The snout is short and round. The lower jaw is broader than the upper. Both jaws are furnished with conical teeth, which are unequal and curved at the top, and are from 20 to 30 in number in each jaw.

The eyes are situated in the same line with the opening of the mouth.

But the most distinguishing mark of the grampus is the dorsal fin, which rises from the middle of the back in the form of a cone, and is nearly four feet in height. The pectoral fins are very broad and nearly oval. The tail fin is divided into two lobes in the form of a crescent. The penis is three feet in length.

The upper part of the body is black; the belly is white. Sometimes white spots are observed on the head and back.

The grampus is the largest fish belonging to the genus. Some have been seen of 25 feet in length by 12 or 13 in circumference. One of 24 feet long was taken in the mouth of the river Thames in the year 1759.

All naturalists agree in describing the grampus as the most cruel and voracious of the family of the dolphin. Its ordinary food is the ical and some species of flat fish. But it is said, that it will attack the porpoise, and even the large whale. The latter, so far from defending himself, is struck with terror, utters dreadful shouts, and, to escape from the enemy, quits the open seas, and retires towards the coasts, which is perhaps the reason that the whale is sometimes thrown ashore. The grampus, however, is often the victim of its voracity. It is at this time that the fishermen watch the opportunity of striking him with the harpoon.

When the emperor Claudius was engaged in the construction of the harbour of Ostia, a grampus, attracted by some fish which had been sunk in a shipwreck, came upon the coast. There he remained for several days; and, forming a kind of canal to receive his huge body in the sand, was protected from the agitation of the sea. While in pursuit of his prey, one day, he was driven ashore by the violence of the waves. The back appeared above the surface of the sea, and resembled a ship with its bottom upwards. The emperor caused strong nets to be stretched across the mouth of the harbour to prevent the escape of the fish, in case he should again get into the water. He then advanced in person, accompanied with his pretorian bands, and exhibited a very amusing spectacle to the Romans. The soldiers embarked in boats were ordered at attack him with spears and other missile weapons. One of the boats was filled with water, and... sunk in consequence of the fish spouting with great violence.

A variety of the grampus is described by the late Mr John Hunter, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1787. It is distinguished particularly by having a very large belly, which diminishes suddenly towards the region of the anus. The dorsal fin reaches nearer the tail. It has the form of a rectangular triangle, and is longer, but less elevated than the first described. The lower part of the body is not perfectly white, but is marked with brown and black spots.

5. Delphinus Gladiator, the Sea-Sword.

The form of the body of this species is conical. The dorsal fin resembles a sabre. The teeth are small and sharp.

Description. This species comes very near the grampus in the form of the head; but it is chiefly distinguished by the dorsal fin, which is three or four feet high, and about 18 inches broad at the base. It becomes slender toward the summit, and is incurvated towards the tail. This fin seems to be an offensive instrument; for with it they strike and wound the whale. The length is from 23 to 25 feet.

This species is gregarious. They are found together in small bodies, which attack the whale with great fury, and tear off large masses from his body. When he becomes warm and fatigued, he lolls out his tongue, which is instantly seized by the watchful enemy. They even enter the mouth and tear out the tongue entirely, which seems with them to be a delicate morsel. The delphinus gladiator possesses immense strength. They have been known to seize upon a dead whale that was dragged by a number of boats, and carry it to the bottom.

They are found near Spitzbergen, in Davis straits, and on the coasts of New England, and even so far north as the 79° of latitude. They are very fat, and the oil which they yield is esteemed very good.

6. Delphinus Leucas.

Beluga, Pennant's Quadrup.; Wittefisch, Anderson's Iceland.

The form of the body is conical. There is no dorsal fin. The teeth are short and blunt.

Description. This species has been arranged by some naturalists among the whales, but having teeth in both jaws makes it properly come under this genus. The body resembles a lengthened cone, having the base at the pectoral fins, and the vertex at the tail. The head is short, and ends in an obtuse snout, on the top of which is a protuberance in which is the blow-hole, which terminates in an oblique direction towards the posterior part of the body. The jaws are nearly equal. The lower jaw is furnished with nine small obtuse teeth on each side, which resemble in structure the grinding teeth of quadrupeds. The teeth in the fore part of the jaw are the smallest. In the upper jaw the number of teeth is the same, but they are more pointed and slightly curved.

The eyes are not larger than those of the hog. The opening of the mouth is small, and the tongue is strongly attached to the lower jaw. Behind the eyes is the external opening of the ear, but it is scarcely visible.

The pectoral fins are broad and of an oval figure. The dorsal fin is wanting, but in its place there is an angular protuberance. The tail fin is divided into two rounded lobes.

The penis of the male is bony, of a white colour, and enclosed in a sheath. The mammary organs of generation are placed on each side of the organs of generation.

The whole body is white, and marked in young fishes with brown and blue spots. The skin is an inch thick, and covers a layer of fat of three inches. It is said that the flesh of this species has a reddish colour like that of pork.

It lives on different fishes, particularly the cod and the foal fish. And as the throat is of small capacity, it is sometimes suffocated in attempting to swallow fish of too large size. The female has one young at a time, which at birth is of a greenish colour, but becomes afterwards bluish, and as it advances in age is white. The females are gregarious, and the young follow at their sides, imitating all their motions. This species is often observed following ships, and exhibiting by a thousand different motions an amusing spectacle.

It quits the open sea during the rigour of winter, and enters the bays that are free from ice. It is seldom an object of trade, on account of the little advantage from the fat. Their arrival, however, is considered by the whale fishers as the fortunate prelude of an abundant fishery. The length is from 12 to 18 feet.

7. Delphinus Bidentatus.

The body is conical. The dorsal fin is spear-shaped. The snout is slender and flat. There are two sharp teeth in the lower jaw.

This species in some of its characters resembles the Delphinus tursio, but in others is so different that it may properly be regarded as a distinct species. The forehead is convex and rounded. The upper jaw is flat, and ends in a beak like that of a duck; but there are only two sharp teeth at the anterior extremity of the lower jaw. The pectoral fins, which are of an oval form and small for the size of the body, are placed opposite to the angles of the mouth. The place of the dorsal fin corresponds to the origin of the tail, is spear-shaped, pointed, and inclines backward. The tail-fin is divided into lobes, forming by their union a crescent. The lower part of the body is of a light brown colour, the upper part is brownish black. This species is supposed to be from 30 to 40 feet long.

8. Delphinus Butskoff, Bottle-headed or Beaked Whale.

The form of the body is conical. The dorsal fin is incurvated towards the tail. The snout is flat and slender. The upper jaw and the palate are furnished with small teeth.

The body represents a cone whose summit is towards the tail. The head is of greater height than breadth. The front, which is full and round, becomes suddenly narrow, and ends in a flat beak rounded at the extremity. The breathing-hole is on the top of the head, opposite to the orbit of the eyes; it forms a crescent whose horns are turned towards the tail. This is the characteristic characteristic mark between this and the other species of delphinus. In place of teeth the surface of the palate and upper jaw are covered with small points, which are unequal and hard. The tongue adheres to the lower jaw, and is notched at the edges. The edge of the upper jaw is also notched.

The eyes are convex as in quadrupeds. They are surrounded with eyelids, and are placed nearly in the middle of the side of the head.

The pectoral fins are attached to the lower part of the breast; they are small in proportion to the size of the fish. The dorsal fin is nearer the tail than the snout: the summit is incurvated backward. The tail-fin is divided into two lobes in form of a fickle.

The whole body excepting the belly is of a leaden colour.

In the Journal de Physique for the year 1789, M. Bauffard has published an account of two cetaceous fishes which were taken near Honfleur in September of the preceding year. The largest was 23 feet long, and the smallest 12 feet. The fishermen perceived them at a distance struggling on the strand. When they approached they found the smallest stuck on the land in shallow water. The mother made many attempts to move her young one into deep water, and not only failed but stuck fast by the head, the heaviest part of the body. The fishermen first took possession of the young one, secured it with ropes; and by their own exertions, aided by a horse and the flowing of the sea, succeeded in bringing it on shore. They then went into the water up to the middle to secure the mother; and having made above 50 wounds with knives on the head and back, and a large wound in the belly, at which the fish seemed to be in great pain, by uttering groans like those of a hog, they were driven off by the violent motion of the tail. A small anchor was then brought, which was introduced into the breathing-hole, and a rope was fastened round the tail. The fish finding herself thus entangled, made such violent efforts, that she broke a thick rope, disengaged herself from the anchor, and taking the advantage of the rising tide, escaped and launched into the deep, at the same instant throwing up an immense quantity of water mixed with blood to the height of 12 feet. She was found next day floating on the water quite dead, at the distance of three leagues from Honfleur.

The following are the principal dimensions of the young fish and the mother.

| Young one | Mother | |-----------|--------| | Total length | Feet Inches | Feet Inches | | Greatest circumference | 8 0 | 15 7 | | Distance from the breathing-hole to the extremity of the snout | 1 11 | 4 4 | | Length of the dorsal fin | 1 0 | 2 0 | | Height of ditto | 0 7 | 1 3 | | Length of the pectoral fins | 1 0 | 2 0 | | Breadth of ditto | 0 7 | 1 3 | | Breadth of the tail fin | 3 2 | 6 10 |

9. DELPHINUS FERES.

In this species there is one fin on the back. The head is rounded. The teeth are oval and obtuse.

The head is nearly of the same height as the length. It is very thick at the top, and suddenly diminishing towards the anterior part ends in a short round snout. The jaws are equal; they are covered with membranous lips, and furnished internally with a row of teeth; so have been reckoned in each jaw. The form of the teeth constitutes the distinctive character of the species. The large and the small teeth are equal in number. The largest are above an inch long by half an inch broad. The small teeth are only five or six lines in length.

The skeleton of one of this species is preserved in the cabinet of natural history at Frejus in France. The length is 14 feet. The bones of the skull are 1 foot 10 inches long, and 1 foot 5 inches broad.

This species is found in the Mediterranean sea.

CHAP. II. Of the Anatomy and Physiology of Cetaceous Fishes.

It has fallen to the lot of few anatomists to have an opportunity of examining with accuracy the structure of cetaceous fishes. The same difficulties which have retarded the progress of their natural history, operate their function of information with regard to their anatomical structure. They are not inhabitants of those parts of the world where this knowledge is in that improved state to render such investigations successful; and when they are accidentally found on the shores of civilized countries, the anatomist, whose skill and dexterity only could be advantageously employed in the examination, is not always at hand, and they are too large to be transported to the dissecting-room, where the nature and structure of the different parts could be patiently traced and faithfully demonstrated. Several of the species of this tribe of fishes have been dissected by the late Mr John Hunter, the detail of which he has given in a paper on the Structure and Economy of Whales, in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1787; and to this paper we must acknowledge ourselves indebted for the principal part of the anatomical knowledge which we propose to lay before our readers in the present chapter.

We have already mentioned the characters which distinguish the whale tribe from fishes in general. They have indeed nothing peculiar to fish except that they live in the same element, and have the same powers of progressive motion as those fish, which from their nature must move with great velocity. This seems to be the case with all fish which come to the surface of the water, as the whales must do for the purpose of respiration. It has also been observed that they are more closely allied to quadrupeds than to fish. They are fitted to have in many respects the peculiar structure and economy of parts which belong to this class of animals. They are furnished with lungs, breathe air, and have warm blood.

This tribe of animals is peculiarly fitted by their external form for dividing the water in progressive rapid motion, and for moving with considerable velocity. And, on account of the uniformity of the element in which they live, the form of their bodies is more uniform than in animals of the same class that live on land. The form of the head is commonly a cone or inclined plane. The spermaceti whale is an exception to this, in which it terminates in a blunt surface. The head is larger in proportion to the body than in quadrupeds, and swells out laterally at the articulation of the lower jaw. This seems to be of advantage to the animal in catching its prey, as there is no motion of the head on the body.

Behind the pectoral fins, at the insertion of which the circumference is greatest, the body gradually diminishes to the spreading of the tail. The body is flattened laterally; and it would appear that the back is sharper than the belly, which is nearly flat.

The progressive motion of the animal is performed by the tail, which moves the broad termination or lobes, operating in the same manner as an oar in sculling a boat. And for the purpose of preventing any obstruction in moving through the water, it may be observed that all the external parts of the clasps mammalia, that live on land, are either entirely wanting, or are concealed under the skin in cetaceous fishes.

Sect. I. Of the Bones.

The bones alone, Mr Hunter observes, when properly united into the skeleton, in many animals give the general shape and character. But this is not so decidedly the case in this order of animals. In them the head is immensely large, the neck small, there are few ribs, in many a very short sternum, and no pelvis, with a long spine terminating in a point, so that these bones being merely joined together do not afford any idea of the regular shape of the animal. The different parts of the skeleton are so enclosed, and the projecting spaces between the parts so filled up, that they are altogether concealed, and give to the animal externally an uniform and elegant form.

The great size of the bones of the head leave but a small cavity for the brain. In the spermaceti whale it is not easy to discover where the cavity of the skull lies. This is also the case with the large whalebone and bottle-nose whale. In the porpoise, the skull constitutes the principal part of the head; for the brain is found to be considerably larger in proportion to the size of the animal. The bones of one genus differ very much from those of another. In the spermaceti and bottle-nose whales, the cranium and the porpoise, the lower jaws, especially at the posterior ends, resemble each other; but in others it is very different. The number of particular bones is also observed to vary very much.

Vertebræ.—The piked whale has seven vertebrae in the neck, 12 in the back; and 27 to the tail. This makes the whole number 46. In the porpoise the cervical vertebrae are seven in number. There is one common to the neck and back, 14 proper to the back, and 30 to the tail, making in whole 51. The cervical vertebrae of a bottle-nose whale, were the same in number as those of the porpoise. There were 17 in the back and 37 in the tail, which make the whole number 60. Four of the vertebrae of the neck in the porpoise are ankylosed, or have grown together. The atlas in every one of this order of animals that has been examined is the thickest of the vertebrae. It seems to be composed of two. There is no articulation between the first and second vertebrae of the neck to admit of rotatory motion. The vertebrae of the neck are very thin, so that the distance between the head and shoulders is as short as possible.

Sternum or Breastbone.—This is very flat in the piked whale, and consists of a single very short bone. The breastbone of the porpoise is considerably longer; it is composed of three bones, which are of some length in the small bottle-nose whale. The first rib of the piked whale, and the three first of the porpoise are articulated to the sternum.

Ribs.—The small bottle-nose whale, dissected by Mr Hunter, had 18 ribs on each side; and the porpoise had 16. Fifteen ribs have been reckoned in the skeleton of the dolphin. A large whalebone whale had 15 ribs on each side, which were 21 feet long and 18 inches in circumference. The spermaceti whales which were thrown ashore on the coast of Brittany in France, had only 8 ribs on each side. They were 5 feet long and 6 inches in circumference.

The ends of the ribs that have two articulations, in articulate the whole of this tribe, Mr Hunter observes, are articulated with the body of the vertebra above, and with the transverse processes below, by the angles, so that there is one vertebra common to the neck and back. In the large whalebone whale the first rib is bifurcated, and consequently is articulated with two vertebrae.

Pectoral or lateral fins.—These are analogous, and somewhat similar in construction to the anterior extremities of quadrupeds. They are composed of a humerus or shoulder-blade, os humeri, ulna, radius, carpus, and metacarpus, which last may include the fingers, the number of bones being such as may be reckoned fingers, although they are included in one general covering. The number of bones in each is different, the fore-finger has five, the middle and ring-finger has seven, and the little finger has four. These bones are not articulated by capsular ligaments as in quadrupeds, but by intermediate cartilages attached to each bone. These cartilages are nearly equal in length to one-half of the bone. This construction gives firmness and a considerable degree of pliability to the whole.

Teeth.—Of this tribe of animals some have teeth in both jaws, some have them only in one, while there are others which have none at all. The teeth cannot be divided into classes as in quadrupeds. They are all pointed teeth, and are pretty much similar in form and size. Each tooth is a double cone, one part of which is fastened in the jaw, and the other projects above the gum. In some, indeed, the fang is flattened and thin at the extremity; and in others it is curved.

The formation of the teeth, and their progress afterwards, seems to be different from that of quadrupeds: for they seem to form in the gum, so that they must rise either extend and sink into the jaw, or the alveoli must rise to enclose them. Mr Hunter thinks this last the most probable, since the depth of the jaw is increased, so that the teeth seem to sink deeper and deeper in it. This mode of formation is observed in jaws that are not fully grown; for, as happens in other animals, the teeth increase in number as the jaw lengthens.

It does not appear that they shed their teeth, or have Whalebone.—This is a substance peculiar to the whale. It is of the same nature as horn. It is therefore entirely composed of animal matter, and is extremely elastic. The name of bone is undoubtedly improper, as it has no earthly matter in its composition; but as it has been commonly employed we shall still retain it.

There are two kinds of whalebone. One kind is got from the large whale; the other from a smaller species. It is placed in the inside of the mouth, and is attached to the upper jaw. It consists of thin plates of different sizes in different parts of the mouth. The length and the breadth of the whalebone, although not always, in general correspond pretty nearly; those plates that are longest being also the broadest.

These plates are arranged in several rows on the outer edge of the upper jaw, similar to the teeth in other animals, and stand parallel to each other, one edge being towards the circumference of the mouth, and the other towards the inside. They are placed at unequal distances in different parts of the mouth. In the piked whale, they are only one-fourth of an inch asunder at the greatest distance. In the great whale the distances are greater.

The longest plates are in the outer row; and the length is proportioned to the different distances between the different parts of the jaws. Some of them are 14 or 15 feet long, and 12 or 15 inches broad. Towards the anterior and posterior part of the mouth they are very short. They rise for half a foot or more of the same breadth, and afterwards dwindle off from the inside till they come nearly to a point at the outer. The exterior of the inner rows are the longest, corresponding to the termination of the declivity of the outer, and become shorter and shorter, till they hardly rise above the gum.

The inner rows are closer than the outer, rise almost perpendicularly from the gum, are longitudinally straight, and have less declivity than the other. The plates of the outer row make a serpentine line laterally, and in the piked whale the outer edge is the thickest. Round the line made by their outer edges runs a small white bead, which is formed along with the whalebone, and wears down with it; both edges of the smaller plates are of nearly the same thickness. In all of the plates, the termination is in a kind of hair, as if the plate were divided into innumerable small parts. The exterior plates have the strongest and also longest.

The whole surface of the mouth resembles the skin of an animal covered with strong hair; and under this surface the tongue lies when the mouth is shut. In the piked whale the projecting whalebone remains entirely on the inside of the lower jaw, when the mouth is shut, because the jaws meet everywhere along their surface. Mr Hunter is at a loss to explain how this is effected in large whales, in which the lower jaw is straight, forming a horizontal plane; but the upper jaw being an arch, cannot be hid by the former. He therefore supposes that a broad upper lip reaches to the lower jaw and covers the whole.

The formation of the whalebone is in one respect similar to that of horn, hair, &c., but it has another mode of growth and decay which is peculiar. The plates form upon a thin vascular substance, which does not immediately adhere to the jaw-bone; but which has a more dense vascular substance between. From this substance thin broad processes, corresponding to each plate, are sent out; and on these processes the plate is formed, in the same way as the horn on the bony cone, or the tooth on the pulp. Each plate is necessarily hollow at the growing end, and the first part of the growth takes place on the inside of the hollow. But besides this mode of growth, it receives additional layers on the outside, which are formed on the vascular substance extended along the surface of the jaw. This part also forms upon it a kind of horny substance between each plate, which is very white, rises with the whalebone, and becomes even with the outer edge of the jaw, and the termination of its outer part forms the bead above mentioned. This intermediate substance fills up the space between the plates, as high as the jaw, and is similar to the alveolar processes, keeping them firm in their places.

As both the whalebone and the intermediate substance are constantly growing, a determined length must be supposed necessary, so that there must be a regular mode of decay established, which does not depend entirely on chance or accidental circumstances. In its growth there seems to be a formation of three parts; one from the rising cone, which is the centre, a second on the outside, and a third being the intermediate substance. These appear to have three stages of duration; for that which forms on the cone, it is supposed, makes the hair; and that on the outside makes principally the plate of the whalebone; and this, when got a certain length, breaks off, leaving the hair projecting, becoming at the termination very brittle; and the third or intermediate substance, by the time it rises as high as the edge of the skin of the jaw, decays and softens away.

The use which has been ascribed to the whalebone, is principally for the retention of the food till it is swallowed; for it is supposed that the fish which are taken by the species of whale having this peculiar construction of the mouth, are small when compared with its size.

Sect. II. Of the Skin and Muscles.

The cuticle, or scarf skin, in this order of animals, is similar to that on the sole of the foot in the human species. It seems to be composed of a number of layers, which may be separated by slight putrefaction. Mr Hunter supposes that this arises from a succession of cuticles being formed. The fibres of the cuticle appear to have no particular direction. It has no elasticity, but is easily torn asunder. The internal layer is tough and thick, and in the sperm whale, the external surface resembles coarse velvet. The cuticle gives the colour to the animal. In parts that are dark, a dirty coloured substance has been washed away in separating the cuticle from the true skin. This seems to be the rete mucosum.

The cutis or true skin in cetaceous fishes is extremely villous in the external surface, corresponding to the rough surface of the cuticle, and forming ridges in some The villi, which are soft and pliable, float in water, and are observed to be longer or shorter in proportion to the size of the animal. In some they are one-fourth of an inch in length, and in all they are very vascular.

The cutis seems to be the termination of the cellular membrane of the body more closely united, having smaller interstices, and becoming more compact. In fat animals the distinction between skin and cellular membrane is small, the gradation from the one to the other being almost imperceptible; for the cells of both membrane and skin being loaded with fat, the whole seems to be one uniform substance. A loose elastic skin would appear to be improper in this tribe of animals; it is therefore always on the stretch by the adipose membrane being loaded with fat. In some places, indeed, where it seems to be necessary, it possesses considerable elasticity, as at the setting on of the fins, and under the jaw, round the opening of the prepuce, the nipples, &c. to allow free motion in these parts, where it is observed that there is more reticular and less adipose membrane.

In the piked whale there is a very singular instance of an elastic cuticular contraction. The whole skin of the fore part of the neck and breast, and as far down as the middle of the belly, is extremely elastic; but it receives an increased lateral elasticity by being ribbed longitudinally. It is not easy to say why this part which covers the thorax should possess so much elasticity, for this part of the body cannot be increased in size.

The fleshy or muscular parts of cetaceous fishes resemble that of most quadrupeds. Perhaps it comes nearer to that of the bull or horse than to that of any other animal. Some of the fleshy parts are very firm; and about the breast and belly they are mixed with tendons.

The body and tail of this tribe of animals are composed of a series of bones connected together, and moved as in fish; but the movements are produced by long muscles, with long tendons. This renders the body thicker, and the tail at its stem smaller, than any other swimming animal.

The depressor muscles of the tail, which are similar in situation to the psoas, make two very large ridges on the lower part of the cavity of the belly, rising much higher than the spine, and the lower part of the aorta passes between them. These two large muscles go to the tail, which may be considered as the two posterior extremities united in one.

The muscles of cetaceous animals lose their fibrous structure a very short time after death, and become as uniform a texture as a mass of clay, and even softer. This change no doubt arises from incipient putrefaction, although no evidence of this process being begun is to be had from any offensive smell. This change is most remarkable in the large muscles, as those of the back and the psoas muscles.

The Tail.—The construction of the tail affords an instance of a singular piece of mechanism. It is composed of three layers of tendinous fibres, which are covered with the cutis and cuticle. Two of these layers are external; the other is internal. The direction of the fibres of the external layers is the same as in the tail, forming a stratum about one-third of an inch thick; but varying, as the tail is thicker or thinner. The middle layer is composed entirely of tendinous fibres, passing directly across between the two external layers, their length being in proportion to the thickness of the tail. This structure gives amazing strength to this part of the animal.

The substance of the tail is so firm and compact, that the vessels remain in their dilated state, even when they are cut across. This section consists of a large vessel, surrounded by as many small ones, as can come into contact with its external surface. The fins are merely covered with a strong condensed adipose membrane.

Sect. III. Of the Organs of Digestion and Excretion.

In the whale, the oesophagus begins at the fauces, as in other animals. At the beginning it is circular, but is soon divided into two passages by the epiglottis crossing it. Passing down in the posterior mediastinum, to which it is attached by a broad part of the same membrane, its anterior surface makes the posterior part of a cavity behind the pericardium. Having passed through the diaphragm, it enters the stomach, and is lined with a very thick, white, and soft cuticle, which is continued into the first cavity of the stomach. The inner or true coat of the oesophagus is white, and of considerable density, but it is not muscular; for it is thrown into large longitudinal folds, by the contraction of the muscular fibres. This coat is very glandular; many orifices of glands, especially near the fauces, are visible. The oesophagus is larger than it is in quadrupeds, in proportion to the bulk of the animal, but of less size than it usually is in fish. One in the piked whale that was measured, was three inches and a half wide.

The stomach, as in other animals, lies on the left side of the body, and terminates on the pylorus towards the right. The duodenum passes down on the right side, as in the human body lies on the right kidney, and then passes to the left side, behind the ascending part of the colon and root of the mesentery, comes out on the left side, and getting on the edge of the mesentery, becomes a looser intestine, forming the jejunum. In this course behind the mesentery, it is exposed as in most quadrupeds. The jejunum and ileum pass along the edge of the mesentery downwards, to the lower part of the abdomen. The ileum, near the lower end, makes a turn towards the right side, mounts upwards round the edge of the mesentery, passes a little way on the right, as high as the kidney, and there enters the colon or caecum. The caecum, which is about seven inches long, and resembles that of the lion or seal, lies on the lower end of the kidney, considerably higher than in the human body; and this renders the ascending part of the colon short. The colon passes obliquely up the right side, a little towards the middle of the abdomen; and when as high as the stomach, crooks to the left, and acquires a broad mesocolon. It lies here on the left kidney, and in its passage down inclines more and more to the middle line of the body. When it has reached the lower part of the abdomen, it passes behind the uterus, and along the vagina in the female; between the two teats, and behind the bladder and root of the penis, in the male; bending down, to open on what is called the belly of the animal. In its whole course... In those which have no caecum, and, therefore, can hardly be said to have a colon, the intestine, before its termination in the rectum, makes the same kind of sweep round the other intestines, as the colon does where there is a caecum.

For the size of the animal, the intestines are not large. In those of 18 or 24 feet long, they are not larger than in the horse; the colon is very short, and has little more capacity than the jejunum and ileum. This is a circumstance common to carnivorous animals. In the piked whale, the length from the stomach to the caecum is 28½ yards, the length of the caecum seven inches, and of the colon to the anus, two yards and three quarters.

The teeth, in the ruminating tribe of animals, point out the kind of stomach, caecum, and colon; but in others, as the horse, lion, &c., the appearances of the teeth only indicate the kind of colon and caecum. In the cetaceous tribe of fishes, whether they have teeth or not, the stomachs vary little, and the circumstance of caecum seems not to depend on either teeth or stomach.

The stomach, in all the subjects examined by Mr Hunter, consisted of several bags continued from the first on the left, towards the right, where the last terminates in duodenum. The number and size of the stomachs differ considerably. In the porpoise, grampus, and piked whale, there are five; in the bottle-nose whale, seven. The two first stomachs in the porpoise, bottle-nose, and piked whale, are the largest; the others are smaller, but not uniformly so.

The first stomach has very much the shape of an egg with the small end downwards, and is lined with a continuation of the cuticle from the oesophagus. In some, the oesophagus enters the upper end of the stomach; in others, it enters posteriorly and obliquely. The second stomach in the piked whale is very large, and rather longer than the first, is of the shape of the Italic letter S, and passes out from the upper end of the first on its right side, by nearly as large a beginning as the body of the bag. In the porpoise, where this second stomach begins, the cuticle of the first ends. The inside of the second stomach has unequal rugae like an irregular honeycomb. In the piked whale the rugae are longitudinal, and in many places deep, some of them being united by cords bands; in the porpoise the folds are thick, maffy, and indented into each other. This stomach opens into the third by a round contracted orifice.

The third stomach is the smallest, appears only to be a passage between the second and fourth, has no peculiar internal structure, and terminates in as large an opening as at its beginning. It is from one to five inches long. The fourth stomach is less than either the first or second. It seems to be flattened between the second and fifth; and in some, as the porpoise, it is long, and passes in a serpentine course like an intestine. The internal surface is regular and villous, and opens on its right side into the fifth. The fifth stomach is round in the piked whale; in the porpoise it is oval; it is small, and terminates in the pylorus without any appearance of a valvular structure. Its coats are thinner than those of the fourth; the internal surface is even, and it is commonly tinged with bile. In some, as the piked whale and the large whalebone whale, there is a caecum; in others, as the porpoise, grampus, and bottle-nose whale, it is wanting.

The structure of the inner surface of the intestine is very singular. The inner surface of the duodenum of the piked whale has longitudinal rugae or valves, at some distance from each other, and receiving lateral folds. The inner coat of the ileum and jejunum appears in irregular folds, which may vary according to the action of the muscular coat of the intestine, yet do not seem to depend entirely on this contraction. In some the whole tract of the intestine is thrown into large cells which are subdivided into smaller. These cells have the appearance of pouches with the mouths downwards, and act like valves when anything is attempted to be passed in a contrary direction.

Liver.—In this tribe of animals there is a considerable degree of uniformity in the liver, which in many resembles the human, bears a near resemblance to the human liver, but is probably less firm in its texture. The right lobe is the largest and thickest, and there is a large fissure between the two lobes, in which the round ligament passes. Toward the left the liver is much attached to the stomach. The gall-bladder is wanting; but the hepatic duct, which enters the duodenum about seven inches beyond the pylorus, is large.

Pancreas.—The pancreas is a long flat body, having its left end attached to the right side of the first cavity of the stomach. It crosses the spine at the root of the mesentery, joins the hollow curve of the duodenum near to the pylorus, adheres to that intestine, and its duct enters that of the liver near the termination in the gut.

Spleen.—The spleen, which is involved in the epiploon, is small for the size of the animal. In some of the tribe, as in the porpoise, there are one or two small ones, not larger in size than a nutmeg, and sometimes smaller. They are placed in the epiploon behind the others.

Kidneys.—The kidneys in this whole tribe of animals are conglomerated. They are made up of small parts, which are connected only by cellular membrane, blood vessels, and ducts. The smaller portions are of a conical figure; the apex is placed towards the centre of the kidney, and the base forms the external surface. Each portion is composed of a cortical and tubular substance, the tubular terminating in the apex, which apex makes the mamilla. Each mamilla has an infundibulum, which is long, and at its beginning wide, embracing the base of the mamilla, and becoming smaller. These infundibula at last unite and form the ureter.

Ureters and Bladder.—The ureter comes out of the small kidney at the lower end, and passes along to the bladder, which it enters very near to the urethra. The bladder, which is of an oblong shape, is small for the size of the animal. In the female the urethra passes along to the external fleshy or vulva, and opens just under the clitoris, as in the human subject. The capsules renales, when compared to the human, are small for the size of the animal. They are flat and of an oval figure. They are composed of two substances; of an external substance, which has the direction of its fibres towards the centre; and of an internal substance, which is more uniform and has less of the fibrous appearance. Sect. IV. Of the Organs of Circulation and Respiration.

1. Circulation.—The heart and blood-vessels, especially the veins, are probably larger in proportion to their size than in the quadruped. The heart is enclosed in its pericardium, and is attached to the diaphragm as in the human body. It is composed of two auricles and two ventricles, is flatter than in the quadruped, and adapted to the shape of the chest. The auricles have a greater number of falciculae, passing more across the cavity from side to side, than in many other animals; and besides have considerable mucularity and elasticity. There is nothing peculiar in the structure of the ventricles of the heart, in their valves, in the arteries, or in their distribution, all which have a similarity to other animals whose parts are nearly similar.

Animals of this tribe have a greater proportion of blood than any other yet known; and some arteries are apparently intended as reservoirs, where a great quantity of blood is required in any part. There is a network of arteries, formed of the intercostal arteries, and running between the pleura, ribs, and their muscles. The spinal marrow is surrounded with a net-work of arteries in the same manner, especially where it passes out from the brain, where a thick substance is formed by their ramifications and convolutions.

In examining particular parts which bear any relation to the size of the animal, if we have been accustomed to see them in the middle-sized animals, we must behold them with astonishment in animals like the whale, which so far exceed the common bulk. The heart and aorta of the spermaceti whale, for instance, appear of immense size, when we make this kind of comparison. The latter measures a foot in diameter; and the former was too large to be contained in a wide tub. Considering the quantity of circulating fluid in afflating, so large a vessel, that probably 10 or 15 gallons of blood are thrown out at a single stroke, and the great velocity with which it moves, the mind must be filled with wonder.

The veins seem to have nothing peculiar in their structure, if we except the veins in the folds on the skin of the breast, as in the piked whale, where, and in similar places, it was necessary to have the elasticity increased.

The blood of this order of animals is similar to that of quadrupeds. Mr Hunter seems to think that the quantity of red globules is in larger proportion; and he supposes that this increased quantity of red particles may have some effect in aiding to keep up the animal heat; for as they live in a very cold climate or atmosphere compared with the heat of their bodies, it is readily carried off, and therefore some help of this kind becomes necessary.

The quantity of blood in this tribe of animals is comparatively greater than in the quadruped, and therefore it is probable that it amounts to more than in any known animal. In them too the red blood is carried to the extreme parts of the body, similar to what happens in the quadruped, but different from fish.

2. Respiration.—Some parts of the organs of respiration in animals that live on land seem to be fitted for a compound action, as for instance the larynx, which anatomy is adapted both for respiration, deglutition, and sound; but in the whale tribe it seems to be adapted only for respiration.

Larynx.—The larynx varies much in structure and variety in the different species. It is composed of the os hyoides, thyroid, cricoid and two arytenoid cartilages. The os hyoides was larger, while the cartilages were much smaller, in the bottle-nose whale of 24 feet long than in the piked whale of 17 feet. In the bottle-nose the os hyoides is composed of three bones, with two whole ends are attached to it, making five in all. In the porpoise it consists of only one bone slightly bent; it has no attachment to the head as in many quadrupeds.

The thyroid cartilage, in the piked whale, is broad from side to side, and has two lateral processes which are long, and pass down the outside of the cricoid, near to its lower end, and are joined to it, as in the human subject. The cricoid cartilage is broad and flat, making the posterior and lateral part of the larynx, and is much deeper behind and laterally than before. The two arytenoid cartilages project much, and are united to each other till near their ends; they are articulated on the upper edge of the cricoid, cross the cavity of the larynx obliquely, and make the passage at the upper part a groove between them. In several of the tribe, the epiglottis makes a third part of the passage, and completes the glottis by forming it into a canal. No thyroid gland has been discovered.

Lungs.—The lungs are two oblong bodies, one on each side of the chest, but are not divided into smaller lobes as in the human subject. They are of considerable length, but not so deep as in the quadruped, from the heart being broad and flat, and filling up the chest. They are increased in size by rising higher up in the chest, and passing farther down on the back. The very lungs are extremely elastic in their substance, and have the appearance and consistence of the spleen of an ox. The branches of the bronchiae which ramify into the lungs, have the cartilages rounded, which seems to admit of greater motion between them.

The pulmonary cells are smaller than in the quadruped, and communicate with each other, which those of the quadruped do not; for by blowing into one branch of the trachea, the whole lungs may be filled.

The diaphragm has not the same attachments as in the quadruped; because the ribs in this tribe do not complete the cavity of the thorax. The diaphragm is therefore unconnected forwards to the abdominal muscles, which are very strong, being a mixture of muscular and tendinous fibres. The chest is longest in the direction of the animal at the back, by the diaphragm passing obliquely backwards, and reaching low on the spine. The parts immediately concerned in respiration are very strong. This is particularly the case with the diaphragm. This seems necessary, as the animal must enlarge the chest in dense a medium as water, the pressure of which must be greater than the counter-pressure from the air inspired. And for the same reason, expiration must be easily performed, for the pressure of the water and the natural elasticity of the parts are greater than the resistance of the internal air, so that that it may be produced without any immediate action of muscles. In these animals the diaphragm seems to be the principal agent in inspiration.

**Blow-hole, or passage for the air.**—In animals breathing air, the nose is the passage for the air, and the seat of the organ of smelling; but in some of the cetaceous tribe, this sense seems to be wanting; in them, therefore, the nostrils are intended merely for respiration. The membranous portion of the posterior nostrils is one canal; but in the bony part, in most of them, it is divided into two. In those which have it divided, it is in some continued double through the anterior soft parts, and opens by two orifices; but, in others, it unites again in the membranous part, making externally only one orifice, as in the porpoise, grampus, and bottle-nose whale. At its beginning in the fauces, it is a roundish hole, surrounded by a strong sphincter muscle, which grasps the epiglottis; the canal beyond this enlarges, and opens into the two passages in the bones of the head. In the spermaceti whale, in which the canal is single, it is thrown a little to the left side. After these canals emerge from the bones near the external opening, they become irregular, and have fulci passing out laterally, of irregular forms, with corresponding eminences; and the structure of these eminences is muscular and fatty.

Where there is only one external opening, it is transverse, as in the porpoise, grampus, bottle-nose, and spermaceti whale; but when it is double, it is longitudinal, as in the large whalebone whale, and in the piked whale. These openings form a passage for the air to and from the lungs; for it would be impossible for these animals to breathe through the mouth.

In the whale tribe, the situation of the opening on the upper surface of the head is well adapted for the purpose of respiration; for it is the first part that comes to the surface of the water in the natural progressive motion of the animal. The animals of this order do not live in the medium which they breathe. This requires a particular construction of the organs which conduct the air to the lungs, that the water in which they live may not interfere with the air they breathe. The projecting glottis passes into the posterior nostrils, by which means it crooks the fauces, and divides them into two passages.

The beginning of the posterior nostrils, which answers to the palatum molle in the quadruped, has a sphincter which grasps the glottis, by which its situation is rendered still more secure, and the passages through the head, across the fauces and along the trachea, are rendered one continued canal. This union of glottis and epiglottis with the posterior nostril making only a kind of joints, admits of motion, and of a dilatation and contraction of the fauces in deglutition, from the epiglottis moving more in or out of the posterior nostril. This tribe of animals having no projecting tongue, and therefore wanting its extensive motion, and the power of sucking things into the mouth, may perhaps require this peculiarity of construction to render the communication between the air and lungs more perfect. But how far this is the case, in the present state of our knowledge of the structure and economy of these respiratory organs, it is not easy to say.

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**Sect. V. Of the Brain and Organs of Sense.**

**The brain.**—In the different genera of the cetaceous tribe of animals, the brain differs much, and also in the proportion it bears to the bulk of the animal. The porpoise has the largest brain, and thus comes nearest the human subject. The whole brain is compact. The anterior part projects less forward than in the quadruped; the medulla oblongata is less prominent, and lies on the hollow made by the lobes of the cerebellum.

The brain is composed of distinctly marked cortical and medullary substances. The medullary substance is very white; the cortical like the tubular substance of the kidney; and these two substances, seem to be in the same proportion as in the human brain. The lateral ventricles are large. They pass close round the ends of the thalami nervorum opticorum. The thalami are large; the corpora striata small. Most of the other parts have a great resemblance to similar parts in the human brain.

The substance of the brain is more visibly fibrous than in any other animal. The fibres pass from the fibrous ventricles as from a center to the circumference, and continue through the cortical substance. The brain of the piked whale weighed four pounds ten ounces.

The spinal marrow in this tribe of animals is proportionally smaller than in the human species. It is now larger in the porpoise where the brain is largest, bearing some proportion to the quantity of brain. But this is not always the case; for in the spermaceti whale, where the brain is small, the spinal marrow is proportionally larger. It terminates about the twenty-fifth vertebra, beyond which is the cauda equina: the dura mater is no farther continued. The nerves that go off from the spinal marrow in its course are more uniform in size than in the quadruped; the parts being more equal, and no extremities, except the fins, to be supplied. The structure of the spinal marrow is more fibrous than in other animals; when separated longitudinally, it tears with a fibrous appearance, but when separated transversely, it breaks irregularly.

The skull is lined with the dura mater, and in some forms the three processes corresponding to the divisions of the brain, as in the human subject; but in others this division is bony. Where the dura mater covers the spinal marrow, it differs from what takes place in other animals, for it encloses the marrow closely, and the nerves immediately passing out through it at the lower part, as they do at the upper, so that the cauda equina as it forms is on the outside of the dura mater.

The nerves going out from the brain are similar to those of the quadruped, excepting in those that want olfactory nerves, as the porpoise. As the organs of sense are variously formed in different animals, fitted for the different modes of impression, in this tribe the construction is varied according to the economy of the animal. The senses of touch and taste seem to be adapted to every mode; but those of smell, sight, and hearing, probably require to be varied or modified according to circumstances; and according to these circumstances the senses are formed.

**Sense of touch.**—The skin in this tribe of animals appears in general to be well calculated for sensation. The whole surface is covered with villi, which are so many vessels, and it must be supposed also nerves. Whether this structure be only necessary for acute sensation, or whether it be necessary for common sensation, is not known. But it may be observed, that where the sense of touch is required to be acute, the villi are usually thick and long; and this is probably necessary, because in these parts of the body where the sensations of touch are acute, such parts are covered with a thick cuticle. This is remarkably the case in the ends of our fingers and toes, and in the foot of the hoofed animals.

Mr Hunter seems to think that the sense of touch possesses greater acuteness in water.

Sense of taste.—The tongue in most animals is not only the organ of taste, but is also intended for mechanical purposes. For this latter purpose it is perhaps less so than in any other animal. In some it has more freedom of motion than in others; and the reason of this is probably the difference in the mode of catching the food and of swallowing. In those with teeth it projects most, which seems less necessary in others which merely open the mouth to receive the food along with the water, or swim upon it. In the porpoise and grampus, the tongue is firm in texture; but in the sperm whale it resembles a feather bed. It is composed of muscle and fat; and in some is pointed and serrated on the edges.

Sense of smelling.—In many of this tribe there is no organ of smell at all; and in those which have such an organ, it is not that of a fish, and therefore, like theirs it is probably not calculated to smell water. It becomes a matter of difficulty to account for the manner in which such animals smell water, and why others have no such organ, which is supposed to be peculiar to the large and small whalebone whales. Mr Hunter is of opinion that the air retained in the nostril out of the current of respiration, which by being impregnated with the odoriferous particles contained in the water during the act of blowing, is applied to the organ of smell. It might be supposed, he observes, that they would smell the air on the surface of the water by every inspiration as animals do on land; but admitting this to be the case, it will not give them the power to smell the odoriferous particles of their prey in the water at any depth; and as their organ is not fitted to be affected by the application of water, and as they cannot suck water into the nostrils without the danger of its passing into the lungs, it cannot be by its application to this organ that they are enabled to smell. Some have the power of throwing the water from the mouth through the nostril, and with such force as to raise it 30 feet high. This no doubt answers some very important purpose, although not very obvious. Mr Hunter supposing that smelling the external air could be of no use as a sense, thinks that they do not smell in inspiration; for the organ of smell is out of the direct road of the current of air in inspiration, and it is also out of the current of water when they spout; may it not then be supposed, he asks, that this finus contains air, and as the water passes in the act of throwing it out, that it impregnates this reservoir of air, which immediately affects the sense of smell? This operation is conjectured to be performed in the act of expiration; because then the water is said to be very offensive. Mr Hunter adds, that if this solution be well founded, those only can spout which have the organ of smell. But as some animals of this order are entirely deprived of this organ, and as the organ in those which have it is extremely small, as well as the nerve which receives the impression, it would appear to be less necessary in them than in those which live in air.

Sense of hearing.—The internal ear in general has nearly the same construction as that of quadrupeds. The bones, the cavities, the cartilages, and the nerves are the same, their disposition and arrangement varying in some of the species; and from this there arises a difference of structure in these organs, and perhaps also a difference in the sensation. According to some anatomists, the semicircular canals are wanting in some of this tribe of animals; while they have been described by others. Some have described the form of the vestibulum as in the sperm whale, others have denied its existence altogether. It is perhaps owing to their being less easily detected, that they have been supposed not to exist at all. According to the relations of fishermen, the cetaceous tribe have the sense of hearing as acute as that of quadrupeds.

Sense of seeing.—The organ of sight in this tribe seems to have a very close analogy with the same organ in quadrupeds. There is the same relative connection between the choroid coat, the retina, and the crystalline humour. In some circumstances, however, they differ, by which probably the eye in this tribe is better adapted to see in the medium through which the light is to pass. The eye for the size of the animal is small; from which it is conjectured that their power of motion is not great. As no observations have yet been made on the form, size, and density of the different humours of the eye, anything we could add would be mere conjecture founded on vague analogy.

Sect. VI. Of the Organs of Generation, &c.

If the cetaceous tribe of animals come near to fishes in some point of resemblance, they are very different in similar to those of others. This is remarkably the case in the structure of the organs of generation, in which they coming nearer in form to those of ruminating animals, than of any other; and this similarity is more striking in the female than in the male; for the situation must vary in the latter on account of external circumstances. In the male the testicles remain in the situation in which they were formed, as in those quadrupeds in which they never come down into the scrotum. They are situated near the lower part of the abdomen, one on each side, upon the two great depressors of the tail; and at this part they come in contact with the abdominal muscles anteriorly. The vasa deferentia pass directly from the epididymis behind the bladder, or between it and the rectum, into the urethra. The vesiculae seminalis are wanting. The structure of the penis is nearly the same as that of the quadruped. The erectores penis, which have a similar insertion to those of the human subject, as well as the acceleratores, are very strong muscles.

These organs in the female consist of the external opening of the vagina, the two horns of the uterus, Fallopian tubes, fimbriae, and ovaria. The external opening is a longitudinal slit, whose edges meet in two opposite directions. opposite points, forming a kind of fulcra. The vagina passes upwards and backwards in a diagonal direction, respecting the cavity of the abdomen, and then divides into the two horns, one on each side of the loins. These afterwards terminate in the Fallopian tubes, to which the ovaria are attached. The inside of the vagina is smooth for about one-half of its length, and then begins to form something similar to valves projecting towards the mouth of the vagina, each like an os tineae. These are from six to nine in number. They hardly go quite round where they first begin to form, but the last make complete circles; and at this place the vagina becomes smaller, and continues gradually to decrease in width to its termination. From the last projecting part the passage is continued up to the opening of the two horns; and at this place the inner surface forms longitudinal rugae, which stretch into the horns.

The Fallopian tubes, at their termination in the uterus, are for some inches remarkably small, they then begin to dilate suddenly; and this dilatation increases, till at the mouth they are five or six inches in diameter. Through their whole length they are full of longitudinal rugae. The ovaria are oblong bodies about five inches in length; one end is attached to the end of the Fallopian tube, and the other to the horn of the uterus. They are irregular in the external surface, and have no capsule but what is formed by the Fallopian tube.

In what position the act of copulation is performed, does not seem to be precisely ascertained. The Greenland fishermen say, that they are then erect in the water, the heads being above the surface, and embracing each other with the fins. M. de St Pierre, during the course of a voyage to the isle of France, affirms, that he saw them several times in this position. Others as confidently affirm, that the female throws herself on her back; but it would appear that this position must interfere with the act of respiration, which cannot be for any length of time suspended; and, therefore, that it is less probable.

It is conjectured, that the female admits the male only once in two years, and that the time of gestation is nine or ten months. It is probable, too, that having only two nipples, they bring forth only a single young one at a time.

The glands for the secretion of milk, or the breasts, are two, one on each side of the middle line of the belly at its lower part. The posterior ends, from which the nipples proceed, are on each side of the opening of the vagina in small furrows. They are flat bodies lying between the external layer of fat and the abdominal muscles, and are of considerable length, but only one-fourth of that in breadth. There is a large trunk which runs through the whole length of the gland, and appears to serve the purpose of a reservoir for the milk. Into this trunk the lateral and smaller ducts enter, some with the course of the milk, some in a contrary direction. The trunk terminates in a projection externally, which encloses the nipple.

It seems difficult at first sight to conceive in what way the process of fucking is performed; so that both the mother and the young one may at the same time respire freely. According to the relations of the Greenland fishermen, the mother throws herself on her side, and the young one then seizes the nipple. In this position, the smallest motion of the body permits the mother or the young one to enjoy the advantage of respiration. The art of fucking must be different from that of land animals, for in them it is performed by drawing the air from the mouth backward into the lungs, which the fluid follows by the pressure of the external air on its surface; but, in the cetaceous tribe, the lungs have no connexion with the mouth. The operation of fucking must therefore be performed by the action of the mouth itself, and by its having the power of expansion.

The milk of the whale is supposed to be very rich. Milk rich. In the one which was taken near Berkeley with its young one, the milk was tasted by Mr Jenner and Mr Ludlow. By their account, it had the richness of cows milk to which cream had been added.

The young whale, according to Dudley, continues to fuck for a year. They are then called short-heads by the fishermen, and are extremely fat, some yielding 50 tons of fat. The mothers, at the same period, are very lean. At the age of two years, they are called flunts, because they are supposed to be dull after being weaned. The quantity of fat which they then yield is from 24 to 28 tons. After this period, they come under the denomination of fluff fish, when their age can only be guessed at by the length of hair at the terminations of the whalebone.

The affection and attachment which the whale displays for its young, have been much celebrated by its naturalists. Perhaps it is magnified by the comparison between the whale and fishes living in the same element, the care of whose offspring is totally disregarded by the parent, and left, which indeed is all that is necessary, to the influence of heat and air to bring forth from the ova or spawn deposited by the mother. This attachment is probably, after all, not more remarkable than in other animals which fuckle their young, and bring forth a small number, or only one at a time.

Sect. VII. Of the Food of the Whale; the Size, Abode, Fat, &c.

Food.—The food of the whole cetaceous tribe is different, supposed by naturalists to be fish, each probably having kinds of some particular kind. Some hundreds of the fish, beaks of cuttle-fish were found by Mr Hunter, in the stomach of the bottle-nose whale; in the stomach of the piked-whale, bones of different fish, but particularly those of the dog-fish; and, in the grampus, the tail of a porpoise.

Considering the capacity of the oesophagus, we must conclude, that they do not swallow fish too large in proportion to their size as many fish do; for it is observed, that fish often attempt to swallow more at a time than what the stomach will hold; so that part must remain in the oesophagus till the rest is digested.

The food of the large whalebone whale is supposed to be small fish, sometimes crab-fish and shell-fish. It may appear strange, that so large an animal should be able to find a quantity of food sufficiently great for its subsistence, and to preserve with it such a covering of fat as they are generally found to have. But this wonder ceases, when it is considered that the very food they Anatomy they seek after, is found in the greatest abundance in those regions which they usually inhabit. In the economy of the whalebone whale, this substance, from which it derives its name, seems to be of particular use; for as it appears that they live on small fish, which they probably receive into the mouth in great numbers, it was necessary that there should be some contrivance to retain them in the mouth till they are swallowed; and this purpose is fully answered by the whalebone.

The northern whale, or the north-caper, lives on mackerel, herrings, cod fish, and tunny fish. Horrebos mentions, that the Icelanders found in the stomach of an individual of this species, which came on shore in pursuit of its prey, no less than 600 living cod-fish, besides a great number of pilchards, and some aquatic birds. This account is probably exaggerated, at least with regard to the number of fish in the stomach being alive. The other species belonging to this genus usually feed on the herring, the arctic salmon, and the sand-eel.

The narwhal, or unicorn whale, is said to live chiefly on the different species of actinia. It is unprovided with teeth to seize its prey; but, according to some naturalists, it can employ the long tooth which proceeds from the upper jaw to entangle these fishes; and having collected them in this manner to the edge of the lips, it sucks them into the mouth and destroys them, by constantly stretching the tongue along the lips.

The spermaceti whales pursue the seal, the dolphin, and the pike-headed whale. The large spermaceti whale pursues, with great avidity, the shark, which is said to be his ordinary food; and this animal, otherwise so formidable, is seized with such a panic at the sight of this terrible enemy, that he conceals himself in the mud, or under the sand; sometimes seeing himself so affrighted on all sides, he darts across the rocks, and strikes them with such force and violence as to occasion his own death. This terror, according to Fabricius, is so strongly impressed, that the shark, which is so greedy of the carcases of the other cetaceous fishes, dares not even approach the dead body of the large spermaceti whale.

The phycifer microps is said to prey chiefly on the seal. When the seals are in number together, and find themselves attacked by their enemy, they make a precipitate retreat. Some gain the shore; while others climb on a piece of ice; and then, if the whale be alone, he conceals himself under the ice, and waits till the seal return to the water, when he seizes his prey. But if several whales have joined in the pursuit, as frequently happens, it is said they surround the mass of ice, and overturn it in the water.

The dolphin genus feed on cod-fish, flat fish, such as the turbot, and many other kinds of fish of moderate size. The grampus is the boldest, the strongest, and the most voracious of any belonging to this tribe of animals. It is agreed by almost all naturalists, that the grampus will even attack the great whale, and put him to flight, which is said to be the reason that they are sometimes thrown ashore on our coasts.

Size of the Whale.—The whale is now rarely seen to exceed 60 feet in length, by 36 feet in circumference. A whale, which landed in the island of Corsica in 1620, was one of the largest which has been known for some centuries. It measured 100 feet in length. But although this be an enormous bulk, it falls far short of the magnitude of the whale, as it has been described by ancient naturalists, existing in their time. But probably these relations will gain little faith, even from the most credulous of the present day, in which Pliny speaks of the whale being 960 feet long; and in another place, the same naturalist says, that Juba writes to C. Caesar, the son of Augustus, that some whales of 600 feet in length, and 360 in circumference, had entered the rivers of Arabia.

But whatever credit is to be given to these stories, formerly there is little doubt that the whales in the northern larger ocean were formerly of much greater bulk than they now are; and the reason seems to be, that being less disturbed when this fishery was less frequented, they arrived at a greater age, and consequently acquired a greater size.

Abode of the whale.—According to the testimony of the ancient naturalists, the whale was more frequently seen in the ocean than at present; for, on account of being disturbed by the numerous fleets traversing the ocean, they have retired to the regions of the north, where they are less exposed to the noise of the mariners, less harassed by the fishermen, and enjoy that tranquillity which is no longer to be found in their former haunts.

The large whalebone whale is most frequently found in the Greenland seas, Davis straits, and the northern coasts of Spitzbergen, Iceland, and Norway; on the east coasts of Labrador, in the gulf of St Lawrence, and round Newfoundland. This whale is also found among the Philippine islands, near Socotra, an island on the coast of Arabia Felix, and on the coasts of Ceylon. The whale also frequents the Chinese seas; and, if the reports of voyagers are to be implicitly admitted, is found there of an immense size. The usual retreat of the spermaceti whale is the northern ocean, towards Davis straits, the North Cape, and the coasts of Finnmark. Of all the cetaceous fish, this indeed seems to lead the most wandering life. In the year 1787, this whale was discovered in great numbers in an extensive bay in the southern peninsula of Africa, at the distance of 40 leagues from the Cape of Good Hope.

The dolphin family is found in all seas; in the ocean, the Mediterranean, the gulf of Messina, and the Adriatic sea, from whence they go into the lagoons of Venice, and to the coasts of Galicia. On the coasts of Cochin China very considerable fisheries are established, which produce a great quantity of oil.

We may conclude, that, in general, the great whale and the unicorn-fish usually frequent the seas towards the poles, between the 68th and 79th degrees of latitude; and that the other families are found diffused over more or less in the seas of more temperate regions. It would appear, from this account of the places which are the ordinary haunt of the whale, that the productions of nature are disposed somewhat in a contrary order; since we find all the large terrestrial animals, such as the elephant and rhinoceros, in countries within the torrid zone; while the huge inhabitants of the ocean have fixed their abode in the polar regions. Migration of the whale.—Although the abode of the whale be generally determined and fixed, yet particular causes force them to leave their usual and natural haunts. The season of their amours, a furious storm, the pursuit of a harassing enemy, the want of food, or excessive cold, often oblige them to migrate. Sometimes they appear solitary, sometimes in considerable numbers, according to the nature of the causes which have disturbed and driven them from their ordinary retreats. According to the information of voyagers who have visited these regions, the great whale every year, in the month of November, leaves Davis straits, enters the river St Lawrence, and there brings forth her young, between Camouraska and Quebec; and from thence, in the month of March following, they regularly return to the polar seas.

It appears, that the whale constantly remains in the northern ocean, and never leaves it but when the female is to bring forth, or when they are driven away by an enemy. In this last case they are most commonly found solitary, at least not more than the male and female, or the mother and the young one.

The spermaceti whales, however, seem frequently to change their habitation, and to roam about in strange seas. This appears from considerable numbers having been thrown ashore or left dry by the retreating tide at different times. In the year 1692, 200 of this species were landed near Cairnfoot in Orkney; and, in the year 1784, 31 large spermaceti whales came on shore on the west coast of Audierne in Lower Brittany in France.

Enemies of the whale.—The greatest and most terrible enemy of the small whale is the phycete microps, or black-headed spermaceti whale. As soon as he perceives the pike-headed whale, the porpoise, and some others, he darts upon them, and tears them to pieces with his crooked fangs.

It is said, that there exists a continual and settled enmity between the unicorn-fish and the great whale; and that they never meet without engaging in combat, in which the whale receives so many severe, and often deadly wounds, as often to occasion its death. When the unicorn-fish strikes its tooth or horn into the side of ships, it is supposed that it is through mistake, taking the vessel for its enemy, the whale.

The white bear, so common in Greenland and Spitzbergen, is extremely fond of the flesh of the cetaceous and other fishes. He remains constantly on the watch for his prey on a mass of ice, or on the sea shore; and as soon as he perceives it, he throws himself into the water, and plunges to attack it. The large and the small whales are equally the objects of his eager pursuit; but he is not successful till after they have lost a great deal of blood from the wounds which he has inflicted, or they have been exhausted with fatigue.

Between the saw-fish and the whale there exists a constant warfare. It is related by all the fishermen, that the whale and saw-fish, whenever they meet, join in combat, and that the latter is always the aggressor. Sometimes two or more individuals combine to attack a single whale; and it is inconceivable with what fury they make the attack. The whale, whose only defense is his tail, endeavors to strike his enemy with it; and a single blow would prove mortal. But the saw-fish, with astonishing agility, thrusts the dreadful stroke, bounds into the air, and returns upon his huge adversary, plunging the rugged weapon, with which he is furnished, into his back. The whale is still more irritated by this wound, which only becomes fatal when it penetrates the fat. The engagement ceases not but with the death of one of the combatants. Martens relates an account of one of these combats between the Iceland whale (Balaena Glacialis) and the saw-fish. It seemed to be extremely dangerous to approach the field of battle. It was therefore at some distance, that he saw them pursuing and striking each other, dealing such violent blows that the water rose in foam as if agitated by a storm. He was prevented from seeing the issue of the struggle by the weather becoming thick and hazy; but he was informed by the sailors, that such combats were frequent; that they generally kept at a distance till the whale was vanquished; and that the saw-fish, only eating the tongue, relinquished the rest of the body, which they take possession of.

Forfkal informs us, that the Arabians believe that some species of the fearsome, a fish found in the Red Sea, enter the blow-holes of the whale, and destroy it with their sharp spines; and, in confirmation of this fact, it is mentioned, that one of these fishes was found in the blow-hole of a dead whale.

The whale is even harried with aquatic birds, which alight in great numbers on its back, in search of the testaceous animals and small insects, which have made it their habitation. And, like most other animals, the whale is tormented with a species of louse, peculiar to itself, which adheres so strongly to the skin, that it may be sooner torn asunder than be made to let go its hold. The fins, the lips, the parts of generation, and other parts of the body, which are most protected from friction, are chiefly infected with this insect. The bite is extremely painful, and they are most troublesome in that season when the whale is in heat.

Age of the whale.—If the time necessary for the Notion of growth or increase of the body were in proportion to as formerly, the period of life, there could be little doubt of the whale being, of all animals known, the most remarkable for longevity. It is well known, that the whales which were taken when this fishery first became an object of trade, that is, between 200 and 300 years ago, were of much greater bulk than they are found to be in the present day. The largest now taken rarely exceed 60 feet long; while, at that time, some reached the astonishing size of 100 in length. The reason of this difference of size seems to be, that, when the fishery first commenced, whales, which had probably reached their utmost growth, were frequently met with. These, on account of being the largest, were constantly harassed, pursued, and destroyed; so that none which have attained their full growth are now to be found in those seas resorted to by the fishermen. From this circumstance, that no large whales are now to be seen in the places which they commonly frequent, it is concluded, that the period of the life of the whale is very long; and that they cannot arrive at the huge size for which the first whales were so remarkable, since they are not permitted to live undisturbed the requisite length of time to attain that bulk. According to Buffon, a whale may live 1000 years, since a carp has been known to reach the age of 200. But, reasoning from analogy, with regard to the structure and economy of the whale, we have seen in many instances, by no means holds; and it is perhaps equally inapplicable to the growth and age of this order of animals.

The fat or oil of cetaceous fishes.—The fat of this order of animals is usually called oil. It is the most fluid of animal fats, for it does not coagulate in our atmosphere. It is found in considerable quantity, principally on the outside of the muscles, and immediately under the skin; and is rarely to be met with in any of the cavities, or in the interstices of the muscles. This substance is enclosed in a reticular membrane, apparently composed of fibres passing in all directions, which seem to confine its extent, and allow it little or no motion on itself; for the whole, when disturbed, forms almost a solid body. In some of the animals of this order there is a different distribution of the fat. Under the head or neck of the bottle-nose whale, it is confined in large cells which admit of motion. In some this reticular membrane is very fine, in others it is coarse and strong, and it varies in different parts of the same fish. In the porpoise, spermaceti, and large whalebone whale, it is very fine; in the grampus and small whalebone whale, it is coarse. In all of them it is finest on the body, becoming coarser as it reaches and covers the fins and tail, which latter is composed of fibres without any fat.

The internal fat is the least fluid in this order of animals. It is nearly of the consistence of hog's lard. The external fat is the common train-oil. It is the adipose covering from all of the whale kind, which is brought home in square pieces called fletchers; and this, which is commonly known under the name of blubber, after being boiled, yields the oil by expression, leaving the cellular membrane. When these fletchers or masses of fat become putrid, there issue two kinds of oil. The one is pure; but the other seems to have a considerable mixture of other animal matters, which, from the state of putridity, are readily dissolved in the purer oil, and form a kind of butter. It feels unctuous to the touch, and ropy, coagulates with cold, swims on water, and the pure oil separates and rises to the top. The substance which remains after all the oil is extracted, is almost entirely convertible into glue, and is sold to be applied to the same purposes.

Spermaceti.—The substance called spermaceti is found in every part of the body, mixed with the common fat of the animal; but to this it bears a small proportion. In the head this substance is also mixed with the common fat; but here the proportions of the two substances are reversed: the spermaceti is far in greatest quantity. And, from this circumstance of its being found in such abundance, in what, from a slight view, would appear to be the cavity of the skull, it has been supposed to be the brain.

The two kinds of fat in the head are contained in cells or in cellular membrane, similar to what takes place in other animals; but, besides these, there are larger cells, or ligamentous parts going across, the better to support the vast load of oil of which the bulk of the head is principally composed. There are two places in the head in which this oil lies. These are situated along the upper and lower part of it, and are divided by the nostrils and a great number of tendons which pass from the nose and the different parts of the head. The cells, which are of the smallest size, and are the least ligamentous, are observed to contain the purest spermaceti. These cells resemble those which contain the fat in other parts of the body nearest the skin, and they lie above the nostril, along the upper part of the head, immediately under the skin and common cellular membrane. The spermaceti, which lies above the roof of the mouth, or between it and the nostril, is more intermixed with a ligamentous cellular membrane; and it is contained in chambers whose partitions are perpendicular. Near the nose these chambers are smallest; but they become larger towards the back part of the head, and in these last the spermaceti is purest. About the nose Mr Hunter discovered a great number of vessels which had the appearance of a plexus of veins, some of which were as large as a finger. They were loaded with spermaceti and oil, and some of them had corresponding arteries. He thinks it probable that they were lymphatics, and that their contents were absorbed from the cells of the head; for many of these cells or chambers were found empty.

The numerous useful purposes to which the common oil of the whale and the spermaceti are applied, the latter sometimes in medicine, and both in many of the arts and in domestic economy, are too well known to be particularly pointed out.

Ambergris.—This substance, the origin of which was long a matter of doubt and uncertainty among naturalists, is now pretty well ascertained to be the production of some of the cetaceous tribe of animals. By some it was supposed to be the excrement of the whale, and, by others, that it was the dung of birds. According to some, it is composed of honey and wax, congealed by the heat of the sun and the action of sea water; while, in the opinion of others, it is a bituminous substance, which flows from the bowels of the earth into the waters of the ocean, where it becomes hard and firm.

But, in the opinion of later naturalists, it is a substance which has an origin and formation similar to that duction of milk, and is a production of the spermaceti whale. This opinion has been rendered more probable by the same substance having been found in some whales of this species, and particularly in one which came on shore on the coast of Bayonne in France, in 1741. In the latter it was found in rounded masses from three to twelve inches in diameter, which weighed from 12lb. to 20lb. It was contained in an oval bag from three to four feet long, and from two to three feet broad, which was suspended immediately above the testicles. This bag terminated in two tubes, one of which becoming narrower, reached to the penis; the other proceeded from the kidneys, and terminated in the other extremity. The bag was almost entirely filled with a yellow-coloured fluid, not quite so thick as oil, exhaling a similar but stronger odour than the masses of ambergris which floated in it. Each mass was composed of concentric layers. The number of masses found in one bag never exceeded four. One was found which weighed 20lb.; but there was no other in the same bag. It has been supposed that the ambergris is only found in old whales, and in the males. Some naturalists think that this substance is an oily concretion. Nothing, perhaps, displays in a more striking manner the power and dexterity of man than the facility with which he conquers and destroys the most enormous and formidable productions of nature. The elephant and the whale, the largest animals known, the one seemingly secure in the midst of the huge icy mountains of the polar regions, and the other roaming at pleasure in the almost inaccessible wilds and deep woods of the torrid zone, yield to his power or fall beneath his all-subduing arm. The swiftest and the most ferocious, as well as the most sagacious, and the most cunning and artful, escape not the toils and snares which he contrives, or the deadly aim of the instruments of his invention.

Whether man was originally urged by necessity, as is most probable, to attack so huge a monster as the whale, or whether it was indirectly to gratify the artificial demands of luxury that he first attempted and still continues to persevere in an occupation so full of danger and fatigue, it must be allowed to be one of the boldest and most daring enterprises that can be conceived. And indeed were it not quite familiar to us, we should still behold with dread and astonishment so feeble a creature as man preparing to attack this monster of the deep, whose strength, were it properly directed, no power could resist; nor would our wonder be diminished, when we find that he seldom fails to succeed in the attempt. But knowledge is power; and the triumphs of intellectual power are equally conspicuous, in accommodating the most unwieldy and most unmanageable parts either of the inanimate or animated creation to the supply and gratification of human wants and desires, in guiding through the trackless ocean, the ship from which the spear is launched for the destruction of the whale, or in digging from the bowels of the earth the metal with which the compasses and the harpoon are constructed.

So early as the 9th century, in the time of Alfred the great, it appears that the Norwegians were acquainted with the whale-fishing. This prince received an account of the discoveries of a Norwegian about the North Cape, in which he speaks of his having been as far north as the places to which the whale-hunters resort; which is considered as a proof of its antiquity; although it is supposed that it was pursued merely on account of the oil, the use of the whalebone not being then known.

But the people who are recorded in history as having prosecuted this fishery with success, were the Biscayans. The sperm whale, as well as the whale, pertaining to these latitudes. The first attempts were made in the bay of Biscay, and in the gulf of Gascony. Ships were fitted out, instruments were constructed, and an establishment was formed for carrying on the fishery. It was observed that the whale only appeared at certain seasons of the year, which led the new fishers to suppose that his residence in other seas was more permanent. And discovering that they retreated towards the polar regions, ships were fitted out and manned with the most experienced seamen, to pursue them northward. At this time the Basqueans carried on this trade, both for the sake of the oil and the whalebone.

Towards the end of the 16th century, the English first engaged in the whale-fishery. But at this time they were so little acquainted with it, that "the request of an honest merchant, by letter to a friend of his, to be advised and directed in the course of killing the whale," is recorded by the historians of that age. The answer was, that a ship of two hundred tons must be fitted out, and provided with all kinds of proper utensils and instruments. But it appears to have been necessary to send to Basque men skilful in catching the whale and ordering of the oil, and one cooper skilful to set up the flaved casks.

In the year 1594, some English ships made a voyage to Cape Breton, at the entrance of the bay of St Lawrence, some for the morse-fishing, and others for the whale-fishing. This seems to have been among their first attempts in this trade. The fishing proved unsuccessful; but they found in an island 800 whale fins or whalebone, part of the cargo of a Basque ship wrecked there three years before, which they put on board and brought home. This was the first time that this substance was imported into England.

The town of Hull, in 1598, first fitted out ships from England for the Greenland whale-fishery, a branch of trade which has since become very considerable, and has frequently received the protection and encouragement of the legislature. A premium of five shillings for each ton of oil, and five shillings for each ton of whalebone, was at first granted by government in 1672. But this encouragement appearing insufficient for the success of the fishery, or the enterprise being considered too great for the stock of individuals, a company was incorporated in 1692, and established by royal authority, with peculiar privileges. Their capital amounted to 40,000l. sterling. The subscriptions in a few years increased to 82,000l. sterling; but in 1701 the company was dissolved, and the trade made free to all adventurers.

The English were now become the most successful adventurers in this fishery. By their skill, their industry, and perseverance, and the aid and encouragement granted by the legislature, they carried on the whale-fishery on more advantageous terms than the Basqueans the first adventurers, whose efforts became less enterprising, as their success was more precarious. In the year 1730, they fitted out for this fishery only 33 ships; about the year 1735, the number was diminished to ten or twelve; and continuing to decrease till the war in 1744, the trade was finally abandoned.

The English still persevered in the trade, a new company was established and a fund of 50,000l. sterling was provided, with power to the company to make all necessary and proper regulations. And for the farther encouragement of the fishery, a duty of 1l. or 18l. sterling was imposed on the ton of all oil imported, and a premium or bounty, to the same amount, was paid for every ton of oil exported which was the produce of the national fishery. Other encouragements were also given; rewards were bestowed on the most successful; the sailors employed in the trade were exempted from the impress service; adventurers were indemnified for all losses which they sustained in their first enterprise; and they were granted the privilege of providing, duty free, all those articles which were needed in this fishery, and were the subjects of taxation.

Still farther to encourage and extend the fishery, which now had become an important national concern, parliament granted in 1779 a premium to five ships which should bring home the greatest quantity of oil; for the first greatest quantity, 500l. sterling; for the next, 400l.; and for the third, fourth, and fifth, 300l. 200l. and 100l. sterling.

In North America, while that continent was subject to Britain, the whale-fishery was carried on to a very considerable extent. A society was established at New York, and numbers of ships were equipped for this trade in different parts of the colonies, by enterprising adventurers, and it has been long extremely successful and lucrative.

The advantages derived to the nation from the whale-fishery, are no doubt very considerable. Besides being an excellent nursery for hardy seamen, it is the foundation of great commercial concerns, by introducing articles which become the sources of an important trade. In this view it has often been an object of legislative discussion, and has often experienced the liberal encouragement and protection of government. According to a law passed in favour of ships employed in this trade, every British vessel of 200 tons or upwards, bound to the Greenland seas, on the whale-fishery, if found to be duly qualified agreeable to the act, obtained a licence from the commissioners of the customs to proceed on such voyage; and on the ship's return, the master and mate declaring on oath that they were on such voyage, that they used all their endeavours to take whales, and that all the whale-fins, blubber, oil, &c., imported in their ship, were taken by their crew in those seas, there was allowed 40s. for every ton according to the measurement of the ship.

It was afterwards found, however, that so great a bounty was neither necessary to the success of the trade, nor expedient with regard to the public. In 1786, therefore, the acts conferring the said emoluments being upon the point of expiring, the subject was brought under the consideration of parliament; and it was proposed to continue the former measures, but with a reduction of the bounty from 40s. to 30s. In proposing this alteration, it was stated, "that the trade in sums which this country had paid in bounties for the Greenland fishery amounted to 1,265,461l.; that, in the last year, we had paid 94,881l.; and that, from the consequent deduction of the price of the fish, the public at present paid 60 per cent. upon every cargo. In the Greenland fishery there were employed 6,000 seamen, and these seamen cost government 13l. 10s. per man per annum, though we were never able to obtain more than 500 of that number to serve on board our ships of war. Besides, the vast encouragement given to the trade had occasioned such a glut in the market, that it was found necessary to export considerable quantities; and thus we paid a large share of the purchase money for foreign nations, as well as for our own people, besides supplying them with the materials of several important manufactures." This proposition was opposed by several members, but was finally carried; and the propriety of the measure became very soon At that time (1786) the number of ships employed from England in the whale-fishery to Davis straits and the Greenland seas amounted to 139; besides 15 from Scotland. The proposed alteration took place the following year (1787); and notwithstanding the diminution of the bounty, the trade increased; the number of ships employed the same year from England amounting to 217, and the next year (1788) to 222. Their cargoes consisted of 5986 tons of clean oil; 7654 tons of whalebone, before 13,386 feet long.

For some years British capital has been employed in a southern whale-fishery; and this has also been a very lucrative branch of trade. This fishery was first prosecuted with vigour about the commencement of the American war. In the year 1785, 18 ships which produced 29,000l. sterling were employed in it. Two years afterwards the number of ships was doubled, and the returns increased in a much greater proportion, which is a proof of the flourishing state of the trade. The number of ships in 1787 was 38, and the produce amounted to 107,000l. sterling.

Some American families, when the war broke out in that country, emigrated to Nova Scotia, where they proposed to carry on the whale-fishery; but being discouraged from particular circumstances, on the invitation of the honourable Mr Greville, they settled at Milford in Milford Haven, and fitted out a ship, which had a very successful voyage. The number of ships soon increased to four, and at present (1803), that number is doubled, so that 8 ships are now employed in the southern whale-fishery from this port, with a capital afloat of no less than 80,000l. sterling. This fact is stated by Mr Barrow in his travels in southern Africa; and "I mention it (says he), as a striking instance to show the importance of the South sea fishery, and as a proof that, contrary to the generally received opinion, it may be carried on by skill and management, and without the adventitious aid of trading, so as fully to answer the purpose of those who are properly qualified to embark in the undertaking. For where men, by industry in their profession, rise from small beginnings into affluence, such profession may be followed with a greater certainty of success than many others which appear to hold out more seducing prospects. The American fishermen never set out with a capital, but invariably work themselves into one; and the South sea fishery from England may succeed on the same principle, as the above example clearly shows, under every disadvantage, when properly conducted."

It is difficult to point out the grounds of justice or policy in giving tonnage bounties to the Greenland fishery, and only premiums to successful adventurers in the southern fishery. A voyage to Greenland is four months, the outfit of which is covered by the tonage bounty, and, if wholly unsuccessful, the same ship can make a second voyage the same year to some of the ports of the Baltic. A voyage to the South sea is from 12 to 18 months, and must depend solely on the success in fishing. A Greenland ship sets out on a small capital, and builds on a quick return; but a South sea whaler must expend a very considerable capital in making his outfit, for which he can reckon on no returns for at least 18 months. Hence the usual practice of sending them out in the double capacity of fishers and contraband traders, in order that the losses they may sustain by ill success in fishing may be made good by smuggling.

"If by extending the fishery we should be enabled to supply the continent of Europe, two objects should never be out of the view of the legislature—the exemption from duty of all the produce of the fisheries, and particularly spermaceti, which, if manufactured into candles, and subject only to the same duty as tallow candles, would produce much more to the revenue than when taxed as it now is, as wax. I have heard it asserted that the extension of the premium system, by doubling its present amount, which never could exceed 30,000l. a-year, would be adequate encouragement to supply the home-market with spermaceti and black whale oil, and that the bonding of foreign oil in Great Britain would throw the whole agency of American fishery on England with greater advantage to both countries than by any other system.

"But when we consider that the home market is necessarily secured to British subjects by high duties on foreign oil, we should also consider that every means is taken to lessen the charges of outfit should strengthen our adventure in this lucrative branch of trade. Among others that would seem to have this tendency, are the facilities that might be afforded by the happy position of the Cape of Good Hope. If at this station was established a kind of central depot for the southern whale-fishery, it might, in time, be the means of throwing into our hands exclusively the supply of Europe with spermaceti oil. To the protection of the fisheries on the east and west coasts of southern Africa, the Cape is fully competent, and the fisheries on these coasts would be equally undisturbed in war as in peace. From hence they would, at all times, have an opportunity of acquiring a supply of refreshments for their crews, and of laying in a stock of salt provisions at one-fourth part of the expense of carrying them out from England."

The Dutch were very early engaged in the Greenland whale-fishery, which soon became one of the most important objects of their trade. In 1611 a company the fishery was established at Amsterdam for carrying on the whale-fishery on the coasts of Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. This branch of trade has in general succeeded better with the Dutch than with any other nation. The principal reason which has been assigned for this success is the greater economy and frugality of this people, in this as in all their concerns, by which they are able to undersell others in oil and whalebone. The mode of fitting out all their ships is also mentioned as a cause of their prosperity in this fishery. The ship-builder, the rope-maker, the baker, the brewer, and other tradesmen, employed in fitting out these ships, commonly take a share in the voyage. When it proves fortunate, they are double gainers; but when it is unsuccessful, the loss which they sustain is probably not greater than if they had merely furnished the articles without having a chance of the profit; and in this respect have the advantage of mere merchants. It is observed by De Witt that this fishery, since it fell into the hands of individuals, has seldom failed to be profitable; but while it was monopolized by the Dutch Greenland company, the profit was inconsiderable. Some idea may be formed of the extent to which the Dutch have carried this trade by stating that... that for a period of 46 years preceding the year 1722, 5886 ships were employed in it, and in this period they took 32,907 whales. Each whale, at an average, valued at £500, makes the total amount above 16 millions sterling.

The following table affords at one view a brief record of the Dutch whale-fishery from 1661 to 1788. The number of ships employed for each year, and the number of whales taken, are listed in separate columns.

A LIST of the Number of Ships from HOLLAND, which were employed in the GREENLAND and DAVIS STRAITS WHALE-FISHERY since 1661.

N.B. The DUTCH sent ships to DAVIS STRAITS for the first time in 1719.

| Years | Ships | Fish | |-------|-------|------| | 166 | 133 | 452½ | | 1662 | 149 | 862 | | 1663 | 202 | 912½ | | 1664 | 193 | 782 | | 1665 | War with England, no ships out. | 1712 | | 1666 | 155 | 573 | | 1669 | 138 | 1013½ | | 1671 | 148 | 792 | | 1672 | 118 | 1088½ | | 1673 | War with England, no ships out. | 179 | | 1674 | 145 | 182½ | | 1675 | 147 | 902½ | | 1676 | 145 | 182½ | | 1677 | 145 | 78½ | | 1678 | 120 | 1118½ | | 1679 | 126 | 792 | | 1680 | 151 | 1373 | | 1681 | 175 | 876 | | 1682 | 195 | 1444 | | 1683 | 242 | 1338½ | | 1684 | 233 | 1153½ | | 1685 | 229 | 1283½ | | 1686 | 189 | 604½ | | 1687 | 194 | 621½ | | 1688 | 214 | 349½ | | 1689 | 160 | 241½ | | 1690 | 117 | 78½ | | 1691 | War with France. | 1738 | | 1692 | 32 | 56½ | | 1693 | 90 | 175 | | 1694 | 63 | 161½ | | 1695 | 97 | 187½ | | 1696 | 122 | 428 | | 1697 | 131 | 279 | | 1698 | 139 | 1483½ | | 1699 | 151 | 775½ | | 1700 | 173 | 913½ | | 1701 | 208 | 207½ | | 1702 | 224 | 687½ | | 1703 | 207 | 644 | | 1704 | 130 | 652½ | | 1705 | 157 | 1678½ | | 1706 | 151 | 966½ | | 1707 | 131 | 126 |

This table is interesting, as it shows us the precarious nature of this fishery. But it would have been still more valuable, if some other circumstances had been stated, such as the nature of the seasons when the fishery was less successful; whether the preceding winter was unusually long or severe; whether the short summer of these regions was not remarkable for extremes or sudden changes of heat and cold, sudden changes and variations of the wind, the prevalence of particular winds; or other facts which might enable us to trace the causes of the extraordinary failure and success of the fishery.

The French made an attempt to revive this branch Attempt of trade in 1784. Six ships fitted out at Dunkirk at the expense of the late king, made some successful voyages both in the northern and southern whale-fishery. The advantages of the trade were obvious, and the French government was eager to improve them. In the year 1786, some of the inhabitants of the island of Nantucket, near Halifax in North America, were invited to settle at Dunkirk to carry on the fishery. Several families accepted the invitation, and to encourage them to prosecute the trade, they were permitted to enjoy peculiar privileges and immunities. Ships were sent out to different seas, and had prosperous voyages. But this trade, as well as every other branch of French commerce, has probably been completely interrupted by the late revolution, and the particular circumstances in which that nation has been with regard to foreign powers.

Besides the nations which we have mentioned, who have been most deeply concerned in this fishery, there are inhabitants of other countries have also embarked in it. Some ships were equipped at Embden in 1768 by order of the king of Prussia; the Swedish government in 1774 granted to a company established at Gottenburgh the exclusive privilege of the Davis straits and Greenland fishery for 20 years; and Denmark in 1775 attempted to take a share in the benefits of that fishery, which many of the nations of Europe, more enterprising or more industrious, had long successfully enjoyed on the shores of the Danish dominions.

The whale-fishery commences in May. It is about Time of this time that the whales are seen in great numbers between... between the 76th and 79th degrees of north latitude; and at a distance they exhibit the appearance of the smoke rising from the chimneys of a great town by the water which is thrown into the air by their spouting or blowing. The fishery continues for the months of June and July, when it must be abandoned whether it has been successful or unprofitable; because it is necessary to be clear of the ice by the end of August. The ships return home at farthest in the month of September. But if the fishery happen to begin early in May, and prove abundant, they sometimes return in June or July.

We shall now conclude this article with a short account of the different modes that are practised in taking the whale. The following is employed in the Greenland fishery by Europeans. Every ship is provided with six boats, to each of which belong five men for rowing the boat, and a harpooner, whose business it is to strike the whale with his harpoon. Two of these boats are kept constantly on the watch at some distance from the ship, fastened to pieces of ice, and are relieved by others every four hours. As soon as a whale is perceived, both the boats set out in pursuit of it, and if either of them can come up before the whale finally deserts, which is known by his throwing up his tail, the harpooner discharges his harpoon at him. There is no difficulty in choosing the place where the whale is to be struck, as some have affected; for these animals only come up to the surface in order to breathe, or blow, as the fishermen term it, and therefore always keep the soft and vulnerable part of their bodies above water. A late improvement was made in the method of discharging the harpoon; namely, by shooting it out of a kind of swivel or musquetoon; but it does not appear, that since this improvement was made the whale-fishing ships have had better success than before. As soon as the whale is struck, the men set up one of their oars in the middle of the boat as a signal to those in the ship. On perceiving this, the watchman alarms all the rest with the cry of fall! fall! upon which all the other boats are immediately sent out to the assistance of the first.

The whale finding himself wounded, swims off with prodigious velocity. Sometimes he deserts perpendicularly, and sometimes goes off horizontally at a small depth below the surface. The rope which is fastened to the harpoon is about 200 fathoms long, and properly coiled up, that it may freely be given out as there is a demand for it. At first the velocity with which this line runs over the side of the boat is so great, that it is wetted to prevent its taking fire; but in a short time the strength of the whale begins to fail, and the fishermen, instead of letting out more rope, strive as much as possible to pull back what is given out already, though they always find themselves necessitated to yield at last to the efforts of the animal, to prevent his sinking their boat. If he runs out the 200 fathoms of line contained in one boat, that belonging to another is immediately fastened to the end of the first, and so on; and there have been instances where all the rope belonging to the fix boats has been necessary, though half that quantity is seldom required. The whale cannot stay long below water, but again comes up to blow; and being now much fatigued and wounded, stays longer above water than usual. This gives another boat time to come up with him, and he is again struck with a harpoon. He again deserts, but with less force than before; and when he comes up again, is generally incapable of descending, but suffers himself to be wounded and killed with long lances which the men are provided with for that purpose. He is known to be near death when he spouts up the water deeply tinged with blood.

The whale being dead, is lashed alongside the ship. They then lay it on one side, and put two ropes, one at the head, and the other in the place of the tail, which, together with the fins, is struck off as soon as he is taken, to keep these extremities above water. On the off-side of the whale are two boats, to receive the pieces of fat, utensils, and men, that might otherwise fall into the water on that side. These precautions being taken, three or four men with irons at their feet to prevent slipping, get on the whale, and begin to cut out pieces of about three feet thick and eight long, which are hauled up at the captain or windlass. When the fat is all got off, they cut off the whalebone of the upper jaw with an axe. Before they cut, they are all lashed to keep them firm; which also facilitates the cutting, and prevents them from falling into the sea; when on board, five or six of them are bundled together, and properly stowed; and after all is got off, the carcass is turned adrift, and devoured by the white bears, who are very fond of it. In proportion as the large pieces of fat are cut off, the rest of the crew are employed in slicing them smaller, and picking out all the lean. When this is prepared, they stow it under the deck, where it lies till the fat of all the whales taken during the fishery is on board; then cutting it still smaller, they put it up in tubs in the hold, cramming them full and close. At the end of the season they return home, where the fat is boiled and pressed to give out the oil.

But a different method is practised by the rude inhabitants of the different nations on the coasts of the Frozen ocean. On some parts of the sea coasts of Kamtchatka, Kamtchatka, the return of the fishing season is celebrated with a grand festival and great rejoicings in their subterranean winter habitations, in which many superstitious ceremonies are performed. In one part of the ceremonies dogs are sacrificed, with beating of drums and other rude musical instruments. The priests who attend and conduct the festival, transport with great solemnity and pomp a figure of a whale, made of wood, from the summer habitation to the winter cottage. As the ceremonies proceed, the whole company assembled shout with a great noise, that the whale has made its escape from the cottage to the sea; and they proceed even to throw the traces of the whale in its course, as if it had really made its way through the opening in the cottage. These ceremonies being ended, the men prepare their nets, and embark in their canoes. The nets are set at the openings of bays, where fish, which are the food of the whale, are abundant, and in the pursuit of which entering the bays he is taken. When this is observed by the people in the canoes, they approach and secure their prize with ropes and traps of leather. This event is again celebrated by their wives and children on shore with dancing, singing, and other demonstrations of joy. But after the whale is sufficiently secured, he is not brought on shore. more till another ceremony is performed. They put on their best clothes, and, with similar solemnity, transport the image of the whale in wood from the winter to a new summer habitation. A lamp is there lighted up, and an attendant is appointed to watch and keep it burning from the spring to the autumn. The whale is then cut up, and furnishes for a long time what is considered by the natives of those regions a very delicate food.

Among the Kurile islands, which are situated near the southern extremity of the peninsula of Kamtschatka, the whales are most abundant about the beginning of autumn. At that time the inhabitants embark in their canoes, and search for them in places where they generally find them asleep on the surface of the water. When they are so fortunate as to find one in this situation, they approach with the least possible noise; and, when they have come within the proper distance, they pierce him with poisoned arrows. And although these wounds seem extremely slight, they are said in a short time to occasion great pain. The whale thus wounded, moves about furiously, blows with great violence, and soon dies.

We have already mentioned the mode of taking the whale which is practised by the Icelanders, in giving the natural history of the *balena glacialis*, or Iceland whale. It is, according to Anderson, by throwing blood into the sea, when they get between the whale and the shore. They then endeavour to drive him towards the shore; but the whale finding himself pursued, attempts to regain the ocean, and approaching the blood, is alarmed; and rather than swim across it, returns towards the land, where he is often thrown on shore. But this is contradicted by Horrebaw, who says, that the usual method of killing the whale in Iceland, is with the harpoon.

When the whale returns to the coasts of Greenland, the fishermen put on their large skin coats, and furnish themselves with a large knife, and a stone to sharpen it. They provide also harpoons, spears, and arrows, with a number of large skins of the sea-dog inflated. Thus equipped, they launch their canoes, and embark with their wives and children. The harpoon which they generally employ, is pointed with bone, or a sharp stone. Some indeed have harpoons of iron, which they procure from the Danes by barter for the oil or fat of the whale. The scarcity of wood and iron makes these articles extremely valuable to Greenlanders, and has excited their ingenuity to avoid the risk of losing them. For this purpose an inflated bladder of the skin of the sea-dog is attached to the harpoon, so that in case it should not reach the whale when they attempt to strike, it may float on the water, and be recovered. Thus equipped, they launch out into the ocean in their small canoes, and, with great intrepidity, attack the largest whales. They approach them, says Anderson, with astonishing boldness, and endeavour to fix, by means of their harpoon, which they throw at his body, some of the skins inflated with air. For, notwithstanding the enormous bulk of this animal, two or three of these skins, by the resistance which they make to the water, on account of their diminished specific gravity, greatly impede his attempts at plunging into the deep. Having by this means succeeded in arresting his progress, they approach nearer; and, with their lances, pierce his body, till he become languid and feeble with the loss of blood, and at last dies. The fishermen then plunge into the sea with their skin-jackets filled with air, and swim to their prize; and, floating on the surface of the water, they cut off with their knives from every part of the whale the fat or blubber, which is thrown into the canoes. And, notwithstanding the rudeness and imperfection of their instruments, their dexterity is such, that they can extract from the mouth the greatest, or at least the best part of the whalebone.

But the mode of killing the whale, the boldest and most astonishing, is that which is practised by the Indians on the coast of Florida. When a whale appears, the Indians fasten to their bodies two pieces of wood and a mallet; and these instruments, with their canoe, constitute the whole of their fishing equipage. When they approach the whale, they throw themselves into the water, swim directly towards him, and have the address to get upon his neck, taking care to avoid the stroke of his fins or tail. When the whale first spouts, the Indian introduces one of the pieces of wood into the opening of one of the blow-holes, and drives it home with the mallet. The whale thus attacked, instantly plunges, and carries the Indian along with him, who keeps fast hold of the animal. The whale, which has now only one blow-hole, soon returns to the surface of the water to respire; and, if the Indian succeeds in fixing the other piece of wood into the second blow-hole, the whale again descends to the bottom, but a moment after re-appears on the surface, where he remains motionless, and immediately expires by the interruption of the function of respiration.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Plate CXL.—Fig. 1. The large whalebone or Greenland whale, is from 40 to 60 feet long, and plainly more than one half the length in circumference at the thickest part. This whale is taken on account of the oil and the whalebone.

Fig. 2. The narwhal or unicorn-fish, yields a small quantity of oil, but it is said to be of a superior quality. The horns or teeth are much valued, and are in some respects preferable to ivory. They are from 9 to 10 feet long. The flesh is greatly esteemed by the inhabitants of Greenland.

Fig. 3. The large spermaceti whale, which is taken on account of the oil, and also on account of the more valuable substance, spermaceti, which is found chiefly in cells within the skull. The figure here given is taken from one of the 31 which came on shore in 1784, near Audierne in France. The length was 44 feet.

Fig. 4. The grampus. This figure was taken from one caught at the mouth of the Thames in 1759. It was 24 feet long.

Plate CXLI.—Figs. 1. and 2. exhibit a view of the course of the blow-hole in the cetaceous fishes.

Fig. 1. shews the blow-hole of the whalebone and spermaceti whale. In the whalebone whale it is double, and the course of it is marked by the dotted line ABCD. It is single in the spermaceti whale, and marked by the dotted lines AEFD.

Fig. 2. shews that of the monodon and delphinus. That of the monodon, which is single, is shewn by the dotted line ABCD, terminating at the back part of the

Fig. 1. BALÆNA MYSTICETUS, LARGE WHALE-BONE WHALE.

Fig. 2. MONODON MONOCEROS NARWHAL, or UNICORN FISH.

Fig. 3. PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS, LARGE SPERMACETI WHALE.

Fig. 4. DELPHINUS ORCA, GRAMBUS. the head; and that of the clasps delphinus by the dotted line AEFD, terminating at the top of the head.

Fig. 3. A perpendicular section of several plates of whalebone in their natural situation in the gum. The inner edges or shortest terminations are removed, and the cut edges seen from the inside of the mouth. A, the upper part, shows the distance of the plates from each other. C, the lower part, shows the white substance on which they grow, and the basis on which they stand.

Fig. 4. A side view of one of the plates of whalebone. A, the part which projects beyond the gum. B, the portion which is sunk in the gum. CC, a white substance which surrounds the whalebone, forming there a projecting bead, and also passing between the plates to form their external lamellae. DD, the part analogous to the gum. E, a fleshy substance covering the jaw-bone, on which the inner lamella of the plate is formed. F, the termination of the whalebone in the hair.

Fig. 5. An outline to show the mode of growth of the plates, and of the white intermediate substance. A, the middle layer of the plate, which is formed upon a pulp or cone that passes up in the centre of the plate. The termination of this layer forms the hair. B, one of the outer layers, which is formed from the intermediate white substance. CCCC, the intermediate white substance, the laminae of which are continued along the middle layer, and form the substance of the plate of whalebone. D, the outline of another plate of whalebone. E, the basis on which the plates are formed, which adheres to the jaw-bone.

INDEX.

| A | Circulation, Clasps, four, | |---|--------------------------| | GE of the whale, No 189 | D. | | Delphinus, Clasps IV. | | general character, 75 | | Phocaena, 77 | | Delphis, 82 | | Turbin, 85 | | Orca, 87 | | Gladiator, 89 | | Leucas, 91 | | Bidentatus, 93 | | Butskopf, 95 | | Ferres, 97 | | Diaphragm, 49 | | Digestion, organs of, 127 | | Dolphin, 81 | | fabulous history, 83 |

| B | N. | |---|---| | Nena, Clasps I. | | general characters, 16 | | Mysticetus, | | characters, 17 | | description, 18 | | whalebone, 20 | | size, 27 | | food, 29 | | dimensions, 31 | | Glacialis, | | characters, 32 | | description, 33 | | curious mode of taking, 34 | | Physeter, | | characters, 35 | | description, 36 | | Nodosa, | | description, 40 | | Gibbosa, | | description, 42 | | Boops, 44 | | Mulculus, 46 | | Rostrata, 50 | | Kidneys, 138 | | Lungs, 147 | | Mammae, 165 | | Milk rich, 167 | | Monodon, Clasps II. | | generic characters, 53 |

| C | S. | |---|---| | word limited in signification, 10 | | Monodon Monoceros, | | uses, magnificent throne of the bones, 57 | | Spurius, 60 | | Narwhal, 53-60 | | Nerves, 155 | | Pancreas, 136 | | Physeter, Clasps III. | | generic characters, 61 | | Macrocephalus, 63 | | Catodon, 65 | | Trumpon, 67 | | Cylindricus, 70 | | Microps, 72 | | Mular, 74 | | Physiology, Porpoise, 76 | | Skin, 122 | | Spermaceti whale, Large, Small, of New England, Round, Black-headed, Mular, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 73 | | Spermaceti, supposed to be indurated faeces, probably a preternatural substance, used as a perfume, 192, 196, 197, 198 | | Spinal marrow, 154 | | Spleen, 137 | | Stomach, &c., 128, 134 | | Sense of touch, taste, smelling, hearing, 156, 157, 158, 159 | | Sense |

Sense of seeing, 166 Sucking, mode of 166

T. Teeth, 112-114

U. Unicorn-fish, 53-60 Ureter, 139

W. Whales, Classification, 14 natural history important, 6 but deficient, 7 organs of digestion, 127 of circulation and respiration, 140 of generation, 161 food, size, abode, 169 Greenland or large whale-bone, 17 Iceland, 32 Fin-fish, 35 Humpback, 39 Scrag, 41 Pike-headed, 43 Round-lipped, 46 Piked, 49 Bottle-nose, 81

No. 160 Whale, Bottle-headed, enemies of, 184-188 affection for young, 168 one young at a birth, 164 Whalebone, peculiar substance, &c., 155 hair, 122 first introduced, 203

No. 94 Whale-fishery, partially encouraged, N. Cape of Good Hope a convenient station for, Dutch early engaged in, extent of their, ships employed and produce of it from 1661 to 1788, 220 Attempt of the French to revive, other nations engage in, time of the, mode practised by the Europeans, by the people of Kamchatka, their previous ceremonies, by the people of the Kurile islands, of Iceland, of Greenland, Astonishing mode by the Floridan Indians,

CEU