THE WHALE. 113 



bones of the fins are analogous, both in proportion 

 and number to those of the fingers of the human 

 hand. From this peculiarity of structure, the fins 

 have been denominated by Dr. Fleming, " swim- 

 ming paws." The posterior extremity of the whale, 

 however, is a real tail; the termination of the spine, 

 or os coccygis, running through the middle of it, al- 

 most to the edge. 



As the whale is flensed while afloat, with nearly 

 the whole of the carcass under water, few opportu- 

 nities of examining its anatomical structure occur. 

 The smallest animals of the species, mere cubs or 

 f 6 suckers," may indeed be hoisted on deck; and it 

 is in such cases only that I have had a chance of 

 inspecting them entirely out of the water. One of 

 these having been taken, the head was hoisted 

 aboard in a mass, and the body, when stripped of the 

 fat, was so small as to be quite within the power of 

 the tackles. Some new facts, respecting the anatomy, 

 of the whale, arose out of the investigation of this, 

 and another of the species, killed in the summer of 

 1821, which I shall attempt to describe. The follow- 

 ing measurements and weight, it must be observed, 

 all refer to a sucking whale, that at the time of cap- 

 ture, was under maternal protection, but the other 

 details in general may be considered as applying to 

 the whole species of the Balsena Mysticetus. 



This whale, though a " sucker," was nineteen 

 feet in length, and fourteen feet five inches in cir- 

 cumference, at the thickest part of the body. The 



Vol. III.- 15 



