SEALS AND WHALES OF THE L.M.B.C. DISTRICT. 141 
‘One stranded upon Kast Hoyle Bank, 1858, and 
exhibited at Tranmere Slip, after which it was cut up at 
Hoylake, and 140 gallons of oil obtained from its blubber. 
The stomach contained great numbers of the horny beaks 
of some species of cuttle. Although these have been found 
- frequently in the stomachs of whales, in this instance the 
mode of their arrangement was remarkable, as the beaks 
were inserted one within another, so as to ride, regularly 
imbricated, in rows of ten, fifteen, or twenty together. 
I have pulled as many as seven asunder, and the person 
who took them from the stomach informed me that they 
formed rows, in some instances, of an inch and a half. 
Many were so firmly impacted that they required strong 
traction to separate them, and sometimes they would 
break rather than come asunder. This curious arrange- 
ment must have been brought about by the peristaltic 
movements of the stomach. Another specimen was cap- 
tured at the Little Meols two years ago.”’ 
“August 25th, 1853, a male of this species was stranded 
upon the East Hoyle Bank; its length was twenty-one 
feet ; from the angle of the mouth to the tip of the snout, 
twenty inches; from tip of snout to eye, three feet six 
inches; eye to spiracle, two feet three inches. The pectoral 
fins were one foot nine inches long and nine inches broad : 
tail fin or propeller, five feet six inches broad and two feet 
long; the dorsal fin about ten or eleven feet from the tail; 
from the vent to the tail, seven feet six inches; orifice of 
urethra to anal opening, one foot ten inches; the length of 
the snout was one foot three inches. I had an opportunity 
of seeing the stomach opened, and observed great numbers, 
certainly many hundreds, of the cuttle beaks ; many were 
unattached, but others were placed one within another, as 
in the foregoing instance. Another of the same species, 
probably his female mate, was seen swimming about the 
