THE SPERM WHALE. 



593 



The cachelot or sperm-whale (Fig. 515) has an enormous 

 head, one third the length of the body, the upper jaw being 

 toothless. It is without the power of smell. It grows to 

 the length of sixty feet. Above the nasal, frontal, and 

 maxillary bones are cavities filled with a fatty fluid called 

 spermaceti, used in the manufacture of candles, ointments, 

 and cosmetics, such as cold cream. A large sperm-whale 

 will yield 2500 kilograms of this substance. Another 



Fig. 514. Fin-whale. From Liitken's Zoology. 



valuable substance is ambergris, a morbid product, the result 

 of injury to the intestine by the beaks of cuttle-fishes, upon 

 which animals the toothed whales largely prey. It is a kind 

 of bezoar or gall-stone, fatty, aromatic, burning with a clear 

 flame. It is composed of benzoic acid, united with chlorine, 

 of a balsamic substance, and ambrein. It is used in making 

 perfumes. Lumps are occasionally thrown ashore, and it is 

 worth about five dollars an ounce. 



''>_' . /< . LrUG .))[<! II , /, III' l/ail 



spiral strips or blanket pieces. After Beak;, from Gill 



But the chief use of whales is the oil extracted from the 

 fat enveloping the body, called blubber by whalers. The 

 most valuable' of the whales is the Greenland whale, as it 

 contains the most oil, individuals having been known to 

 yield nearly three hundred barrels. 



