460 ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



the skin which can be pulled off in sheets after it 

 has been a little dried in the air, or particularly in 

 frost, is not thicker than parchment. The rete mu- 

 cosum in adults, is about three-fourths of an inch in 

 thickness, over most parts of the body ; in suckers, 

 nearly two inches ; but on the under side of the 

 fins, on the inside of the lips, and on the surface of 

 the tongue, it is much thinner. This part of 

 the integuments, is generally of the same colour 

 throughout its thickness. The fibres of which it is 

 composed, are perpendicular to the surface of the 

 body. Under this lies the true skin, which is white 

 and tough. As it imperceptibly becomes impreg- 

 nated with oil, and passes gradually into the form 

 of blubber, its real thickness cannot easily be stated. 

 The most compact part, perhaps, may be a quarter 

 of an inch thick. 



Immediately beneath the skin lies the hluhhei 

 or fat, encompassing the whole body of the animal, 

 together with the fins and tail. Its colour is yel- 

 lowish-white, yellow or red. In the very young ani- 

 mal it is always yellowish-white. In some old ani- 

 mals, it resembles in colour the substance of the sal- 

 mon. It swims in water. Its thickness all round 

 the body, is 8 or 10 to 20 inches, varying in diffe- 

 rent parts as well as in different individuals. The 

 lips are composed almost entirely of blubber, and 

 yield from one to two tons of pure oil each. The 

 tongue is chiefly composed of a soft kind of fat, that 



