tctumarji at &mmattfr Mature. 737 



sequently restricted to very small animals, 

 such a structure is necessary in order to re- 

 tain the whole of those which are taken into 

 the mouth. The manner in which the food 

 is taken, then, is as follows : The whole of 

 the seas of the Arctic regions, no less than 

 those of the more southern climates, abound 

 in innumerable shoals of molluscous, radiate, 

 and crustaceous animals, which swarm in 

 such hosts as often to colour the surface of 

 the sea. When a Whale, therefore, is taking 

 its food, the immense mouth being opened, 

 a large number are as it were shovelled up 

 by the great expanse of the lower jaw, and 

 as the mouth is closed the water is regurgi- 

 tated, and the numerous captives are re- 

 tained by the apparatus just described. When 

 the number of Whales which are found in 

 the Northern Seas and the immense bulk of 

 each individual are considered, imagination 

 itself must fail to appreciate the countless 

 myriads of small beings which are consumed 

 for the nourishment of these stupendous 



bodies." [See CLIO.] 



ut although this baleen, or whalebone, 



B 



which the Greenland Whale yields in such 

 large quantities, is a product of such value 

 as to render it an object of eager pursuit to 

 those engaged in the Whale Fishery, the 

 principal reward arising from the perilous 

 employment is to be found in the large quan- 

 tities of oil which are obtained from its thick 

 cutaneous layer of fat, or blubber, as it is 

 usually termed. A Whale sixty feet in 

 length will frequently yield more than 

 twenty tons of pure oil, and some of the 

 pieces of baleen are twelve feet long. It is 

 for these prizes that men willingly expose 

 themselves to the rigours of an Arctic winter, 

 the chance of falling victims to the united 

 effects of cold and hunger, or shipwreck in 

 its most horrid form, occasioned by the irre- 

 sistible crush of icebergs. And should the 

 hardy mariner escape from dangers such as 

 these, the harpooner not unfrequently pe- 

 rishes from the upsetting of the boat owing 

 to the violent plunges which the wounded 

 animal makes in the water, or the whirlpool 

 produced by his rapidly rushing down into 

 the deep. 



Who can read the following passage, which 

 we extract from the able author before 

 quoted, without a feeling of remorse and 

 shame ? " The female of this species, like 

 most others of the Cetacea, is extremely at- 

 tached to her young, and often rushes into 

 the most imminent danger, and even upon 

 certain death, to rescue or defend it. The 

 whalers take advantage of this affectionate 

 attachment, and strike with the harpoon the 

 young Whale, quite sure that the mother 

 will before long approach for the purpose of 

 saving her offspring, but too frequently, in 

 fact, to perish with it I " The Whale has 

 usually but one young one, and brings forth 

 in the early spring ; at birth it is about ten 

 or twelve feet long. 



The NORTHERN RORQUAL, or RAZOR- 

 BACKED WHALE. (Balccnoptera physalis.) 

 This Whale, which is probably the longest 

 of the animal creation, is so named from its 

 having a prominent ridge, or spine, on its 



back. It is about a hundred feet long, and 

 from thirty to thirty-five feet in circum- 

 ference ; but in proportion to its size, and the 

 difficulty of killing it, its value in oil and 

 whalebone is far less considerable than that 

 of the preceding ; and on that account it is 

 not sought after by whalers, and not always 

 attacked when met with. It is less quiet 

 and tranquil in its general movements than 

 the Common Whale, seldom lying motionless 

 on the surface of the water whilst blowing, 

 but making way at the rate of about five 

 miles an hour. When struck, the velocity 

 of its descent is such as very frequently to 

 break the line, of which the Rev. Dr. Scoresby 

 mentions several instances. The food of this 

 enormous animal consists not only of the 

 in oil use a and smaller Crustacea which con- 

 stitute the aliment of the Balcena, but also 

 of fish of considerable size. One of this spe- 

 cies was some years since towed into the 

 harbour of Ostend ; and its magnificent ske- 

 leton, ninety-five feet in length, was ex- 

 hibited at Charing-cross (near the King's 

 Mews, the present site of Trafalgar-square'). 

 When taken, this specimen of the Whale 

 weighed 249 tons ; and 4000 gallons of oil 

 were extracted from the blubber. 



The BROAD-NOSED WHALE (Balcena mva- 

 culus) in many respects much resembles the 

 preceding, except in its never attaining so 

 gigantic a size : its length being from fifty 

 to eighty feet. 



The smallest of the Whales is called the 

 BEAKED WHALE (Balcena rostrata) ; its 

 length being about twenty-five feet. , 



The SPERM WHALE, or SPERMACETI 

 WHALE (Physeter macrocephalus) now de- 

 mands our attention. Mr. T. Beale, surgeon, 

 to whom we are indebted for a circumstantial 

 account of the natural history of this species, 

 says : " In length it comes next to the 

 Balaena Physalis, and in bulk, probably, ge- 

 nerally exceeds it, and in commercial value, 

 perhaps, equals the Balaena Mysticetus ; for 

 although it does not possess the valuable 

 whalebone of this animal, it furnishes us 

 with the beautiful substance spercameti, and 

 is rich in abundance of the finest oil : it is 

 also the source ot the perfume termed am- 

 bergris : its length is about eighty feet ; cir- 

 cumference about thirty or thirty-five." 



SPERMACETI WHALE. 

 (PHYbETER MAOROCEPHALU8.') 



No longer ago than in the year 1835 Mr. 

 Beale thus writes : " On returning to Eng- 

 land, after completing an engagement which 

 occupied upwards of two years, in the South 

 Sea Whale Fishery, I was surprised to find, 

 that, when the knowledge of every useful 

 and interesting subject is so widely diffused, 

 so little should be generally known of the 

 natural history of almost the largest inha- 

 bitant of our planet, the great Sperm Whale ; 



3R3 



