THE SPERMACETI WHALE. 16*7 



" schools," and occasionally consist of two, four, or 

 even six hundred. With each herd of females seve- 

 ral large bulls are always to be found, the lords of 

 the herd, or, as they are called, the " schoolmasters." 

 These males are extremely jealous of intruders, and 

 fight fiercely to maintain their rights. 



The iull grown male whales, or " large whales,"' 

 almost always go alone in search of food ; and when 

 they are seen in company, they are supposed to be 

 making passages from one feeding ground to another. 

 The " large whale" is generally very incautious, and, 

 if alone, is attacked without difficulty, and generally 

 easily killed ; as he frequently, after receiving the 

 first plunge of the hai-poon, appears hardly to feel 

 it, but continues lying like a log of wood before he 

 makes any attempt to escape. Large whales are 

 sometimes, however, remarkably cunning and full 

 of courage, when they ^\dll commit dreadful havock 

 with their tail and jaws. 



According to Beale, the female breeds at all sea- 

 sons, and the time of her gestation is " not very 

 long." He also states, that she is much smaller 

 than the male, in the proportion nearly of one to 

 four or five. This appears a novel, and we pre- 

 sume to think, a somewhat doubtful assertion. They 

 are not onl}^, like other genera, greatly attached to 

 their young, but are likewise remarkable for their 

 strong feeling of sociability and attachment to one 

 another ; and this is carried to such an extent, that 

 if one female of the herd be wounded, her faith- 

 ftd companions mil remain round her till the last 



