THE SPERM WHALE 1199 



again to blow as before, each respiration being made with great regularity. The 

 number of its spoutings, when in a state of quietude, depends on the size of the ani- 

 mal. The same may be said as to the time it remains upon or beneath the surface 

 of the ocean. With the largest bulls the time occupied in performing one expira- 

 tion and one inspiration is from ten to twelve seconds, and the animal will generally 

 blow from sixty to seventy-five times at a rising, remaining upon the surface of the sea 

 about twelve minutes. As soon as ' his spoutings are out ' he pitches head foremost 

 downward, then, 'rounding out,' turns his flukes high in the air, and, when gain- 

 ing a nearly perpendicular altitude, descends to a great depth, and there remains 

 from fifty minutes to an hour and a quarter. ' ' During the spouting there is no 

 sound heard. When swimming in the ordinary manner, with the hump just show- 

 ing above the surface, Beale believes that sperm whale can attain a speed of about 

 seven miles an hour, but when swimming with the head alternately in and out of the 

 water he estimates the speed at from ten to twelve miles an hour. 



When at the surface, sperm whales frequently indulge in what appear to be 

 mere sportive gambols. At one time they will violently beat the water into foam 

 with their flukes, this action being known to whalers as "lob-tailing," while at 

 others they will leap completely out of the water. Beale - states that the way in 

 which the sperm whale performs this action of "breaching" "appears to be by 

 descending to a certain depth below the surface, and then making some powerful 

 strokes with his tail, which are frequently and rapidly repeated, and thus convey a 

 certain degree of velocity to his body before it reaches the surface, when he darts 

 completely out. When just emerged and at its greatest elevation, his body forms 

 with the surface of the water an angle of about forty-five degrees, the flukes lying 

 parallel with the surface; in falling, the animal rolls his body slightly, so that he 

 always falls on his side. He seldom ' breaches ' more than twice or thrice at a time 

 or in quick succession." It is added that the "breaching" of a sperm whale is 

 discernible at a distance of six miles from the masthead on a clear day. It is believed 

 by some authorities that these actions of the sperm whale are not gambols, but are 

 undertaken to rid its body of certain parasites. If frightened, the animal can sink 

 suddenly to the bottom, even when lying horizontally. 



The female cachalot, according to Beale, breeds at all seasons of the year, and 

 there is generally but one produced at a birth, although twins are not unknown. 

 At birth the length of the young sperm whale is said to vary from eleven to 

 fourteen feet. 



The chief food of the sperm whale consists of squids and cuttles, but 

 considerable quantities of fish comprising rock cod, albicore, and 

 bonito are likewise consumed. All these different kinds of food are procured at a 

 considerable depth below the surface of the water, but the mode of capture is at 

 present unknown. It has indeed been suggested that, when below the surface, the 

 whale remains stationary and drops its lower jaw nearly perpendicularly, thus re- 

 vealing the glistening white interior of the capacious mouth. This, it is alleged, 

 serves to attract the various animals upon which the creature feeds, and when a 

 sufficient number have entered the trap, the lower jaw is suddenly closed. Although 

 the suggestion is ingenious, it is one that scarcely admits either of proof or disproof. 



