11^ THE WHALE. 



A stout whale of sixty feet in length, is of the 

 enormous weight of seventy tons; the blubber weighs 

 about thirty tons, the bones of the head, whalebone, 

 fins, and tail, eight or ten; carcass thirty or thirty-two. 



The flesh of the young whale is of a red colour; 

 and when cleared of fat, broiled and seasoned with 

 pepper and salt, does not eat unlike coarse beef; 

 that of the old whale, approaches to black, and is 

 exceedingly coarse. An immense bed of muscles, 

 surrounding the body, is appropriated chiefly to 

 the movements of the tail. The tail consists princi- 

 pally of two reticulated beds of sinewy fibres, com- 

 pactly interwoven, and containing very little oil. In 

 the central bed, the fibres run in all directions; in 

 the other, which encompasses the central one in a 

 thinner stratum, they are arranged in regular order. 

 These substances are extensively used, particularly 

 in Holland, in the manufacture of glue. 



Most of the bones of the whale are very po- 

 rous, and contain large quantities of fine oil. The 

 jaw bones, which measure twenty to twenty-five 

 feet in length, are often taken care of, princi- 

 pally on account of the oil that drains out of them, 

 when they come into a warm climate. When ex- 

 hausted of oil, they readily swim in water. The ex- 

 ternal surface of the most porous bones is compact 

 and hard; the ribs are pretty nearly solid; but the 

 crown bone is almost as much honey-combed as the 

 jaw bones. The number of ribs, according to Sir 

 Charles Giesecke, is thirteen on each side. The 



