HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



before breakfast, and when eventually captured, after 

 destroying many other boats, many harpoons from 

 the various ships which had attacked him were found 

 sticking in his body. There is one well-authenticated 

 instance of a vessel being attacked and destroyed by 

 a sperm whale : the American whale-ship Essex was 

 attacked by one, which, first passing under the vessel, 

 probably by accident, came in contact with her keel 

 and carried it away ; then turning and rushing 

 furiously upon the ship, the whale stove in her bow ; 

 so serious was the breach that the vessel speedily 

 filled and went down. Most of the crew were away 

 in their boats at the time, but those on board had 

 just time to launch their one remaining boat before the 

 vessel sank. The boats made for the coast of Peru, 

 the nearest land, many hundreds of miles distant ; one 

 of them was picked up drifting at sea, and three of 

 the crew, who were found in it in a state of insensi- 

 bility, were the only survivors of the ill-fated vessel. 



In addition to the sperm and oil, this species yields 

 another product which is, or was, very valuable, 

 although it is the result of disease, and one would 

 imagine a very uninviting substance — I refer to 

 Ambergris, the origin and composition of which was 

 so long a puzzle to the learned. This substance is 

 now well known to be a concretion of the indigesti- 

 ble portions of the Cuttle-fish, which form the food 

 of the Sperm Whale. The nucleus of the mass is 

 generally the horny beaks of these creatures, and 

 the substance itself is found in the intestines of the 

 Sperm Whale, or on the shores of the seas frequented 

 by this species : no other whale is known to be 

 subject to these bezoars. It was formerly believed 

 that the origin of ambergris was in some way con- 

 nected with the sea, and when it was afterwards 

 found in whales, the fact was simply attributed to 

 their having swallowed it. Sir Thomas Browne 

 writes of the Sperm Whale which came on shore at 

 Wells, in 1646 : — " In vain was it to rake for 

 ambergriese in the paunch of this leviathan, as 

 Greenland discoverers and attests of experience 

 dictate that they sometimes swallow great lumps 

 thereof in the sea ; insufferable foetor denying that 

 inquiry ; and yet if, as Paracelsus encourageth, 

 ordure makes the best musk, and from the most 

 foetid substances may be drawn the most odoriferous 

 essences ; all that had not Vespasian's nose (Cuiodor 

 lucri ex re qualibet) might boldly swear here was a 

 subject fit for such extractions" (p. 356, vol. i.). 

 It was not until 1783, in a paper read before 

 the Royal Society by Dr. Swediaur, that a scienti- 

 fic account of 'the origin of ambergris was made 

 known. At the present time its medical virtues, 

 which were formerly considered very great, are 

 altogether at a discount, and the only use to which 

 it is applied is in the preparation of perfumery. 



I have said veiy little about the method of pur- 

 suit and capture of this species and of the Right-whale, 

 because it is a subject in which I take no pleasure ; 



those who wish to know how these peaceful and 

 highly-organi/.ed giants are approached, and how 

 they behave when terrified and smarting under the 

 harpoon and whale-lance, can pursue the subject 

 ad nauseam in the pages of Scoresby, Bcale, and 

 others; the sickening process of "flensing" and 

 disposing of the blubber is described with equal 

 minuteness. I for one cannot appreciate the halo- 

 of romance with which some authors seek to sur- 

 round the whale-fishery. Doubtless the occupation 

 is one of hardship and danger, but the remunera- 

 tion when successful is in proportion, and I can 

 hardly conceive of men inflicting the fearful amount 

 of suffering which every "full" whaleship, or in 

 a still greater degree every "full" sealer, repre- 

 sents, — under any circumstances. Science is con- 

 stantly adding to our resources, and it is sincerely 

 to be hoped that ere long substitutes may be found 

 for animal oil and whalebone which will supersede 

 their use in the few processes in which they are 

 still requisite : should this be long delayed, it is to 

 be feared that the seals and whales, at least of the 

 northern seas, will soon cease to exist. 



Although so widely spread over the waters of the 

 globe, possessing, I believe, a range greater than 

 any other known species of animal, it is only open 

 and deep waters which can be said to be the home of 

 the Sperm Whale ; and when found in shallow seas, its 

 generally emaciated condition indicates the absence 

 of its proper nourishment ; and the readiness with 

 which whole herds precipitate themselves stupidly 

 upon the sands, shows how little they are acquainted 

 with such objects. Mr. Andrew Murray makes some 

 observations upon this subject, which are so interesting 

 and so suggestive that I must ask you to excuse my 

 making a long quotation. 



Speaking of those specimens which have now and 

 then been cast ashore in the North Atlantic or in the 

 English seas, he says : "They seem to be un- 

 prepared for, or not adapted for, shallow seas. 

 Accustomed (perhaps not individually but by here- 

 ditary practice or instinct) to swim along the coral 

 islands of the Pacific within a stone's throw from the 

 shore, they cannot understand, their instinct is not 

 prepared to meet, shallow coasts and projecting head- 

 lands. If they were habitual residents in our seas, 

 they must either be speedily extirpated, learn more 

 caution, or be developed into a new species." .... 

 Mr. Murray further says: "I observe that almost 

 every place that has been above mentioned as a 

 favourite resort of the Sperm Whales, although not 

 out of soundings, has claims to be considered the site 

 of submerged land. The islands of the Polynesia, 

 which are its special feeding-ground, are the beacons 

 left by the submerged Pacific continent. In pure 

 deep seas animal life is usually scarce, and the 

 absence of breeding-ground is probably the chief 

 cause of it ; but this only applies to a certain kind of 



animals, those which require a bottom on which to 



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