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CHAP, VIET: 
THE CETACEANS. 
General Remarks on the Organisation of the Cetaceans.—The Large Greenland 
Whale. — His Food and Enemies.—The Fin-Back or Rorqual.— The Antarctic 
Whale.— The Sperm Whale.—The Unicorn Fish.—The Dolphin.—Truth and 
Fable-—The Porpoise-—The Grampus.—History of the Whale Fishery. 
Or all the living creatures that people the immensity of ocean, 
the cetaceans, or the whale family, are the most perfect. Their 
anatomical construction renders them in many respeéts similar 
to man, and their heart is susceptible of a warmth of feeling 
unknown to the cold-blooded fishes ; for the mother shows signs 
of attachment to her young, and forgets her own safety when 
some danger menaces her offspring. Like man, the cetaceans 
breathe through lungs, and possess a double heart, receiving and 
propelling streams of warm red blood. The anatomical structure 
of their pectoral fins bears great resemblance to that of the 
human arm, as the bony structure of those organs equally consists 
of a shoulder-blade, an upper arm, a radius and ulna, and five 
fingers. 
But the arm, which in man moves freely, is here chained to the 
body as far as the hand, and the latter, which, in obedience to 
human volition and intellect, executes such miracles of industry 
and art, is here covered with a thick skin, and appears as a broad 
undivided fin or flapper. Yet still it is destined for higher 
service than that of a mere propelling oar, as it serves the 
mother to guide and shield her young. The lower extremities 
are of course wanting, but their functions are performed by the 
mighty horizontal tail, by whose powerful strokes the un- 
wieldy animal glides rapidly through the waters. 
The cetaceans distinguish themselves, moreover, from the fishes 
by the bringing forth of living young, by a greater quantity of 
blood, by the smoothness of their skin, under which is found a 
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