THE ''SPOUTING'' OF WHALES. 69 



those of Bennett, Von Baer, Sars and Burmeister, are directly- 

 opposed to the statement that water is thus ejected ; and 

 there can now be no doubt that the appearance which has 

 given rise to the idea is caused by the moisture with which 

 the expelled breath is supercharged, which condenses at 

 once in the cold outer air, and forms a cloud or column of 

 white vapour. It is possible indeed that if the animal 

 begins to 'blow' before its head is actually at the surface, 

 the force of the rushing air may drive up some little spray 

 along with it, but this is quite different from the notion that 

 water is really expelled from the nasal passages. We may 

 add that on the only occasion when we ourselves witnessed 

 the * spouting ' of a large whale we were much struck with 

 its resemblance to the column of white spray which is 

 dashed up by the ricochetting ball fired from one of the 

 great guns of a man-of-war." 



The simile is admirable, and nothing could better describe 

 the appearance of a whale's " spout " ; but, in the previous 

 portion of the passage (except with reference to the sperm 

 whale, the nostrils of which are not on the top of the head), 

 I think sufficient importance is not conceded to the volume 

 of water propelled into the air by the outrush of breath 

 from the submerged blow-hole. I do not know how many 

 cubic feet of air the lungs of a great whale are capable of 

 containing, but the quantity is sufficient to force up to a 

 height of several feet the water above the valve when the 

 latter is opened, not only in " some little spray," but, for some 

 distance in a good solid jet — enough, in fact, to give the 

 appearance of its actually issuing from the blow-hole, and 

 to account for the erroneous belief of sailors that it does so. 

 It must be remembered that the escape of air is not by a 

 prolonged wheeze, but by a sudden blast, and thus when 

 the spiracle is opened just beneath the surface, an instant 



