44 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 



CETACEA. 



The occasional stranding upon our shores of some monster member of 

 the order Cetacea serves from time to time to reawaken our interest in these 

 wonderful animals, and sets us thinking how little we know about them, and 

 how small is our acquaintance with their life-history. 



Nor is this lack of information surprising when we consider that the diffi- 

 culties in the way of studying the larger Cetacea, are so great as to be almost 

 insuperable to any ordinary person, and even to the leaders of zoological 

 science rarely does the opportunity present itself of examining specimens in 

 the flesh ; for, of the rare instances in which they are cast ashore, the majority 

 occur in wild and unfrequented parts of the coast, where they are probably 

 cut up for their oil before a naturalist has an opportunity of examining them. 

 From their unnatural position when cast up, and their altered appearance, 

 owing to the falling in of some parts and the distension of others, correct 

 portraiture is almost impossible ; and their great size renders it difficult and 

 expensive to make them serviceable to science, while from the putrid 

 condition in which they are frequently found, a close examination is too often 

 anything but agreeable. If seen in their native element, where alone they 

 should be seen duly to appreciate their grand proportions and perfect adapta- 

 tion to their mode of life, the view must be brief and too often distant, 

 certainly affording rare opportunities for close observation. There is thus 

 little left for naturalists to study, except the bony skeletons, and of these 

 often mere fragments. Under these circumstances, we shall cease to wonder 

 at the great confusion which, till recently, existed in the classification and 

 nomenclature of the Cetacea, and which has been only partially cleared away, 

 chiefly by the labours of Professors Flower and Turner in this country, and 



