104 THE WHALE. 



the anterior and posterior extremes of the animal; 

 from whence it gradually tapers, in a conical 

 form, towards the tail, and slightly towards the 

 head. Its form is cylindrical from the neck to 

 within ten feet of the tail, beyond which, it be- 

 comes somewhat quadrangular, the greatest ridge 

 being upwards, or on the back, and running back- 

 ward nearly across the middle of the tail. The 

 head has somewhat of a triangular shape. The 

 under part, the arched outline of which is given by 

 the jaw bones, is flat, and measures 16 to 20 feet 

 in length, and 10 to 12 feet in breadth. The lips, 

 extending 15 or SO feet in length, and live or six in 

 height, and forming the cavity of the mouth, are 

 attached to the under jaw, and rise from the jaw- 

 bones, at an angle of about 80 degrees, having the 

 appearance, when viewed in front, of the letter U. 

 The upper jaw, including the crown bone or skull, 

 is bent down at the extremity, so as to shut the front 

 and upper parts of the cavity of the mouth, and is 

 overlapped by the lips in a squamous manner at the 

 sides. 



When the mouth is open," it presents a cavi- 

 ty as large as a room, and capable of containing a 

 merchant ship's jolly boat, full of men, being six 

 or eight feet wide, ten or twelve feet high, (in front) 

 and fifteen or sixteen feet long. 



The fins, two in number, are placed between one 

 third and two-fifths of the animal, from the snout, 

 and about two feet behind the angle of the mouth: 



