256 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA. 



glish, we shall have a grand total, perhaps, of not less than six or 

 eight thousand, of all sizes and flags, engaged in this one pursuit. 

 Of all the industrial pursuits of the sea, however, the whale fish- 

 ery is the most valuable. Wherefore, in treating of the physical 

 geography of the sea, a map for the whales would be useful. 



555. The sperm whale is a w^arm-water fish. The right whale 

 dehghts in cold w^ater. An immense number of log-books of 

 whalers have been discussed at the National Observatory, with the 

 view of detecting the parts of the ocean in which the whales are 

 to be found at the different seasons of the year. Charts showing 

 the result have been published ; they form a part of the series of 

 Maury's Wind and Current Charts. 



556. In the course of these investigations, the discovery was 

 made that the torrid zone is to the right whale as a sea of fire, 

 through which he can not pass ; that the right whale of the north- 

 ern hemisphere and that of the southern are two different ani- 

 mals ; and that the sperm whale has never been known to double 

 the Cape of Good Hope — he doubles Cape Horn. 



557. With these remarks, and the explanations given on Plate 

 IX., the parts of the ocean to which the right whale most resorts, 

 and the parts in which the sperm are found, may be seen at a 

 glance. 



