NATURAL HISTORY. 



489 



dinous fibres, running in various di- 

 rections, and containing the oil, or 

 rather connecting together the cel- 

 lular substance which contains it. 

 These fibres are finest next the 

 skin, thinnest in the middle, and 

 coarsest near the flesh. 



The annexed ta- 

 ble shews the quan- 

 tity of oil a whale of 

 each size of bone 

 will produce at a 

 medium. 



The blubber of a 

 sucker, when very 

 young, frequently 

 contains little or no 

 oil, but only a kind of 

 milky fluid; in which 

 case, when the ani- 

 mal is deprived of life, the body 

 sinks to the bottom, as also does the 

 blubber when separated from it ; 

 while the body and blubber of 

 larger individuals always swim. 

 Though the preceding statement 

 be exceedingly near the truth, yet 

 exceptions occur; for I have known 

 a whale of 2^ feet bone produce 

 10 tons of oil, and one of 12 feet 

 bone estimated at only 9 tons; such 

 instances are much rarer than to 

 see one of 2| feet bone produce 4 

 or 5 tons of oil. 



The flesh of the young whale is 

 of a fine red colour ; that of the old 

 approaches to black, and is coarse, 

 like that of a bull, and is said to be 

 dry and lean when boiled, because 

 there is but little fat intermixed 

 with the flesh. 



Tlie food of the whale is gene- 

 rally supposed to consist of differ- 

 ent kinds of sepia;, medusae, or the 

 clio limacina of Linna:u9 ; but I 

 have great reason to believe, that 

 it is chiefly, if not altogether, of 



the squilliE or shrimp tribe; foir, 

 on examining the stomach of one 

 of large size, nothing else was 

 found in it ; they were about half 

 an inch long, semi-transparent, 

 and of a pale red colour. I also 

 found a great quantity in the 

 mouth of another, having been ap- 

 parently vomited by it. When 

 the whale feeds, it swims with con- 

 siderable velocity under water, with 

 its mouth wide open; the water en- 

 ters by the fore part, but is poured 

 out again at the sides, and the food 

 is entangled and sifted as it were 

 by the whalebone, which does not 

 allow any thing to escape. 



It seldom remains longer below 

 the surface than twenty or thirty 

 minutes ; when it comes up again 

 to blow, it will perhaps remain 

 ten, twenty, or thirty minutes at 

 the surface of the water, when no- 

 thing disturbs it. In calm wea- 

 ther, it sometimes sleeps in this 

 situation. It sometimes ascends 

 with so much force, as to leap en- 

 tirely out of the water ; when 

 swimming at its greatest velocity, 

 it moves at the rate of seven to 

 nine miles an hour. 



Its maternal affection deserves 

 notice. The young one is fre- 

 quently struck for the sake of its 

 mother, which will soon come up 

 close by it, encourage it to swim 

 off", assist it, by taking it under its 

 fin, and seldom deserts it while 

 life remains. It is then very dan- 

 gerous to approach, as she loses all 

 regard for her own safety in anxiety 

 for the preservation of her cub, 

 dashing about most violently, and 

 not dreading to rise even amidst 

 the boats. Except, however, when 

 the whale has young to protect, 

 the male is in general more active 



