328 BRANCH CHORDATA 



plates are " frayed out " and form a strainer, through which the 

 water taken into the mouth trickles out, leaving the small 

 animals from the water in the mouth. This baleen or whalebone 

 is worth several dollars a pound, and from 800 pounds to several 

 tons are derived from a single whale. One whale has been re- 

 ported as furnishing $12,230 worth of whalebone, and oil valued 

 at $3490. 



Whales vary from 6 to 60 or 80 feet in length, and some have 

 been found 100 feet long. The voice of some species has been 

 described as similar to the lowing of a cow, and others like the 

 bellowing of a bull. The young whale is called a calf. 



The great Ror'qual whales may measure from 60 to 85 or even 100 feet. 

 A species of whale, probably of genus Balcenop' tera, is described as having a 

 mouth so wide that "divers men might have stood up in it, yet the throat 

 so narrow as would not lia\e athnittcd the least of fishes.'' The blue 

 whale (Balopnnp'kra .sibbdl'dii) is tlie giant of the rorquals. The Califor- 

 nia gray whale is said to be a cunning, courageous enemy. 



The "right whales" are from 50 to 60 feet long, the head about one- 

 fourth the length of the entire animal, and with no dorsal fins. The 

 whalebone is valuable and the oil is of excellent quality and large quantity. 

 In toothed whales, which have no whalebone, the orifice of the blow-hole is 

 single. 



The sperm whales (Physeter'idoe) have teeth in the lower jaw only. Phy- 

 se'ter macroceph'alus) is from 55 to 80 feet long. The head is enormous, 

 ending in a great blunt snout. The mouth is ventral and " it has been as- 

 serted that the sperm whale turns over on its back to bite.''^ The single 

 blow-hole is not in the median line, but on one side. Inside of the great 

 " square head " is a cavity lying above the skull, which during life is filled 

 with oil or fluid fat, of which the spermaceti of commerce is the jn-oduct. 

 This oil is also found in other whales. Ambergris, an exjx-nsivc substance 

 used in connection with perfumery (which is at first a greasy mass and then 

 hardens), is a product from the intestinal canal of the sperm whale. This 

 whale is tropical. The females are found in herds or schools. Their food 

 is chiefly cuttle-fishes. The throat is said to be large enough^ to have 

 swallowed Jonah. It has great strength, being able to throw itself entirely 

 out of the water. 



Dolphins and porpoises have many teeth which are present in both upper 

 and lower jaw. The size of these animals is small to medium. The Be- 

 lu'ga, or " white whale," is a northern species. It has a distinct neck and 

 free vertebne. The young are blackish, growing white as they mature. 

 This porpoise ascends rivers in search of food, which is preferably salmon. 

 One {Deiphin'idce elphineraptus) is fairly common in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence.^ 



1 Beddard, p. 362. 



2 Ibid., p. 365. 



^ Shipley and McBride. 



