AJ x. 557 



acute sensations of touch are required, such parts 

 Covered by a thick cuticle; of this the ends of 

 our lingers, toes, and the foot of the hoofed ani- 

 mals, are remarkable examples. Whether this 

 sense is more acute in water, I am not certain, 

 but should imagine it is. 



The tongue, which is the organ of taste, is also 

 endowed with the sense of touch. It is likewise 

 to be considered, in the -i number <>t' ani- 



mals, as an instrument tor mechanical purposes; 

 but probably less so in this tribe than any other. 

 However, even in these, it must have been tunned 

 with this view, since, merely as an organ of taste, 

 it would only have required surfai is a pro- 



jecting body, endowed with motion. In the 

 Spermaceti Whale the tongue is almost Tike a fea- 

 ther-bed. In the Piked Whale it is but gently 

 raised, having hardly any lateral edges, and its 

 tip projecting but little, yet, like every other 

 tongue, composed of muscle and fat. 



The tongue of the large Whalebone Whale, I 

 should suppose, rose in the mouth considerably ; 

 the two jaws at the middle being kept at Mi 

 distance on account of the whalebone, so that the 

 space between, when the mouth is shut, must be 

 filled up by the tongue, 



In this tribe of animals there is something very 

 remarkable in what relates to the sense of smell- 

 ing; nor ha\e 1 IK en able to discover the particu- 

 lar mode by which it i performed. In many 

 of this tribe then- j| n uan of smell at all; 

 nnd in those which have such an organ, it is not 



