244 THE OCEAN. 



bunch of the neck ; from hence the body is nearly 

 straight to within one-third of its length from the 

 tail, where there is a larger prominence called the 

 hump ; it now rapidly tapers away to the tail : the 

 whalers distinguish this tapering part by the name 

 of "the small," and the^road horizontal tail, as "the 

 flukes." The whole of the upper portion of the 

 square and bluff head is occupied by a cavity, tech- 

 nically, termed " the case ;" w r hich is not covered by 

 bone, but by a thick, tendinous, elastic skin, and 

 lined with a beautiful glistening membrane. This 

 cavity is filled with a clear oil, which, after death, 

 cools into the substance well known as spermaceti. 

 Some idea may be formed of the capacity of the case, 

 from the fact that, in a large Whale, it will frequently 

 be found to contain ten large barrels of this valuable 

 product. Immediately beneath the case is placed 

 "the junk," a thick triangular mass of tough elastic 

 substance, which also yields a considerable quantity 

 of spermaceti. The fins are comparatively small, and 

 are situated a little behind the mouth ; they do not 

 appear to be used in giving motion, which is effected 

 by the tail, but in balancing the body, and support- 

 ing the young. 



The general colour of the animal is very dark 

 grey, nearly black on the upper parts, but more sil- 

 very beneath. Old males usually have a large spot 

 of pale grey on the front of the head, when they are 

 said to be grey-headed. The motions of these enor- 

 mous creatures are exceedingly curious : when mov- 

 ing perfectly at leisure, the Whale swims slowly 

 along, just below the surface of the water, effecting 



