10 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



PART I.— CLASS MAMMALIA. 



ORDER I.— EDENTATA, OR TOOTHLESS CETACEA. 



GENERAL HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF WHALES. 



Whales constitute a tribe of cetaceous mammiferous 

 animals, which, from their external appearance and 

 habits of life, in their native element, the briny deep, 

 appear at first sight to approach so near to the fish 

 tribe, that it is no wonder the ancient, and even, as 

 already mentioned, modern naturalists, who were but 

 little acquainted with the correct history or structure 

 of these creatures, or, in fact, any of the finny race, 

 should arrange them as appertaining to the class of 

 fishes. 



There are no fewer than seven species of the whale 

 which strictly appertain to the genus baits" na ; and the 

 same number of species of the delphinus, or dolphin 

 tribes, which may be considered as inhabiting the 

 Northern or Arctic Seas. As the public are frequently 

 led to deem the latter as whales, from their inatten- 

 tion to the distinguishing characters of this order of 

 cetacea, and as the physeters, or sperm-whale tribe, 

 are not unfrequently captured in the Arctic Seas, to com- 

 plete this natural history of the cetaceous animals, as 



