ZOOLOGY. — BALJENA MYSTICETUS. 4^55 



the mouth, and is overlapped by the lips in a squa- 

 mous manner at the sides. 



When the mouth is open, it presents a cavity as 

 large as a room, and capable of containing a mer- 

 chant-ship's jolly-boat, full of men, being 6 or 8 feet 

 wide, 10 or 12 feet high (in front), and 15 or 16 

 feet long. 



The fins, two in number, are placed between one- 

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

 the snout, and about two feet behind the angle of the 

 moutli. They are 7 to 9 feet in length, and 4 or 5 in 

 breadth. The part by which they are attached to the 

 body, is somewhat elliptical, and about 2 feet in dia- 

 meter ; the side which strikes the water is nearly flat. 

 The articulation being perfectly spherical, the fins arc 

 capable of motion in any direction ; but, from the 

 tension of the flesh and skin below, they cannot be 

 raised above the horizontal position. Hence the 

 account given by some naturalists, that the whale 

 supports its young by its fins, on its back, must be 

 erroneous. The fins, after death, are always hard 

 and stiff ; but, in the living animal, it is presumed, 

 from the nature of the internal structure, that they 

 are capable of considerable flexion. The whale has 

 no dorsal fin. 



The tail, comprising, in a single surface, 80 or 100 

 square feet, is a formidable instrument of motion and 

 defence. Its length is only 5 or 6 feet; but its 

 width is 18 to 24 or 26 feet. Its position is hori- 



