The Rorqual The Spermaceti Wlide. 407 



THE RORQUAL, OK FIN-BACKED WHALE, 



(Balcenoptera loops,") 



Is a very large Whale, specimens sometimes measuring 

 as much as one hundred feet in length. It is distinguished 

 by its smaller head, and by the existence of a sort of fin 

 on the lower part of its back. The Rorqual is found in 

 the northern seas, and specimens are sometimes seen off 

 our coasts. It is not of much value, as it furnishes far 

 less blubber than the common \\ hale, and the baleen or 

 whalebone is so short as to be useless. 



THE SPERMACETI WHALE, OR CACHALOT. 



(PJiyseter macrocephalus.) 



THIS animal has teeth in the lower jaw only ; and no 

 whalebone. The substance called spermaceti is extracted 

 from its immense head, which is nearly half the size of 

 the entire animal ; and the throat is so large that it could 

 swallow a shark. 



The quantity of oil produced from the Spermaceti 

 Whale is not so considerable as that obtained from the 

 common or Greenland Whale, but in quality it is far 

 preferable, as it yields a bright flame, without exhaling 

 any nauseous smell. Tho substance known by the 



