WHALE-LAND AND ITS CUSTOMS. 123 



the animal against cold, and, by rendering the 

 body much lighter, helps to resist the pressure 

 of the water in great depths. The eyes, about 

 the size of those of an ox, are situated on the 

 side of the head, and have very acute sight. 

 The spout-holes of the right whale are from 

 eight to twelve inches long and comparatively 

 narrow, and are situated on the most elevated, 

 part of the head. The powerful tail can shiver 

 with one blow a large boat to splinters, or toss 

 it and its crew a long distance into the air. 

 The plates of baleen, or whalebone, suspended 

 from the roof of the mouth number three to 

 four hundred on each side. The base of each 

 plate is embedded in the membrane that covers 

 the palate, the edge forming a loose fringe com- 

 posed of pliant bristles. 



The Rorqual is of the same family as the 

 Greenland whale, but a sort of poor relation, 

 as it is despised and rejected by whalers unless 

 it is the only prey they can seize upon. He 

 is larger than the Greenland whale, sometimes 

 measuring a hundred feet, and is a sort of slaty 

 gray and whitish beneath. Like his haughty 

 relatives he is found for the most part in Arctic 

 seas. He feeds on large prey, his throat being 

 much more capacious than that of the right whale. 



