22 RESPIRATION OF THE WHALE. 
or 
able to disengage itself from the detaining cord in time to breathe, and was consequently 
suffocated. 
When the Whales breathe, they are forced to rise to the surface of the sea, and there 
make a number of huge respirations, which are technically called “spoutings,” because a 
column of mixed vapour and water is ejected from the nostrils, or “ blow-holes,” and spouts 
upwards to a great height, sometimes as much as twenty feet. In order to enable the 
animal to respire without exposing itself unnecessarily, the “ blow-holes” are placed on 
the upper part of the head, so that when a Whale is reposing itself on the surface of the 
sea, there is very little of its huge carcase visible, except the upper portion of the head 
and a part of the back. The “spoutings” are made with exceeding violence, and can be 
heard to some distance. 
The mode of respiration is, however, rather different from that of the generality of 
mammalia, bemg modified in order to meet the peculiar circumstances in which the 
animal is placed. 
In nearly all the mammalia the movements of respiration take place in rather rapid 
succession, and are continuous in their action, and if they are checked for only a few 
minutes, the result is inevitably fatal. It is evident, however, that as the Whales 
are forced to seek their food in the depths of the ocean, and to remain for a considerable 
space of time below the surface, their respiration must be conducted on a different 
system. The mode which is adopted is truly one of the most marvellous contrivances 
that can be imagined, and which is so beautifwly simple as well as profound that 
it raises our highest adoration of the unspeakable wisdom which planned it. 
It is clear that the creature would not be able to take a supply of air into the depths 
of the ocean, and that another means must be found for oxygenizing the blood. 
As, therefore, the animal is unable to breathe below the surtace of the water, the 
difficulty is surmounted by furnishing it with a large reservoir of arterial blood, which is 
oxygenized during the short time that is occupied in the “ spoutings,” and which supplies 
the circulation until the Whale returns again to the upper regions fora fresh supply. The 
reserved blood is contained in a large mass of vessels which line the interior of the chest 
and the adjoining regions, and are capable of containing a sufficient amount of fresh 
blood to sustain life for a wonderfully long period. 
As the Whales are in the habit of descending to very great depths—depths so 
profound, that if a piece of dry wood be equally deeply sunk it will be saturated 
with water, and will not float—their ears and nostrils must be guarded against the 
dangers that would arise from the penetration of the water into their cavities. There is 
consequently a beautifully simple and ingenious valvular structure, which perfectly 
answers this purpose, and firmly closes the external orifices in proportion to the depth to 
which the animal dives. The ear is remarkably small, and in some specimens is almost 
undiscernible. Some anatomists are of opinion that the Whales can hear by means 
of the communication of the ear with the mouth. As the spermaceti Whale is 
capable of communicating with its companions at a distance of several miles, it is 
evident that the sense of hearing must be better developed than would be the case 
if the creature were totally dependent for hearing on the external orifice ; which must 
always be closed while under water, and which in many species is covered with the 
external integument. 
The limbs of the Whales are so modified in their form that they can hardly be 
recognised by their external appearance alone as the limbs of a veritable mammal. In 
shape they closely resemble the fins of fish, and it is not until they are stripped of the 
thick skin which envelops them that the true limb is developed. The reader may see 
the bony structure of the Whale’s fin by referring to the skeleton of the rorqual on page 529. 
The chief use of these organs seems to be that they assist the animal in preserving its 
position in the water, for the huge carease rolis over on its back as soon as it is deprived 
of the balancing power of the fins. They are also employed for the purpose of grasping 
the young whenever the mother Whale is anxious for the safety of her offspring, but they 
are of little use in urging the animal through the water, that duty being almost entirely 
performed by the tail, 
