THE SPERMACETI WHALE. 167 



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

 even six hundred. With each herd of females seve- 

 ral large hulls are always to he 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 full 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 he 

 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 harpoon, appears hardly to feel 

 it, hut 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 will 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 only, 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- 

 ful companions will remain round her till the last 



