64 THE WHALEMAN S ADVENTURES. 



merce, which is in slabs averaging about a 

 quarter of an inch thick. The longest are near 

 the middle of the series, and are eight or ten 

 inches wide where they join the skull, and are 

 in a large whale ten to twelve feet long, nar- 

 rowing to a point as they approach the lower 

 jaw. 



They hang perpendicularly from the crown 

 to the lower jaw, with their thickest edges put ; 

 they are set about half an inch apart, some- 

 thing like the slabs of a Venetian blind made 

 very close. The inner edge of each slab has a 

 fringe of hair several inches long, so that on 

 looking into the cavity of the head, the sides of 

 it appear as if lined with felt or hair- cloth. 

 Upon the lower jaw lies the enormous tongue, 

 which is a mass of fat containing six or eight 

 barrels : it appears like a large cushion of white 

 satin, so exceedingly soft and delicate is it. 

 The lips are attached to the sides of the lower 

 jaw, and extend nearly the whole length of 

 the head on each side. Except when feed- 

 ing, they are closed over the sides of the 

 head, their upper edges fitting to the skull or 



