2o8 FISHES IN G E N E R A L. 



gold fifli from China is ftill quicker. Thefe at firfl efcape by their mi- 

 nutenefs and agility. They rife, fink, and turn, much readier than grown 

 fifh ; and they can efcape into very fhallow waters when purfued. 



But there are fome that have all the tendernefsof birdsor quadrupedes 

 for their young ; that nurfe them with conftant care, and proted them 

 from every injury : of this difpofition are the cetaceous or whale kinds they 

 brin^them alive into the world, and defend them with courage and adi- 

 vity : alfo, in part, the cartilaginous kinds, which have griftles in- 

 ftead of bones. But the tribe we have been defcribing, that leave their 

 fpawn without protedlion, are called the Jpiuous or bony kind, from their 

 bones refembling the fharpnefs of thorns. 



The cetaceous f the cartilaginous, and thtjpncusy differ from each other 

 in conformation, appetites, bringing forth, and in the. education of their 

 young. Thefe three great diftin6lions are ftrongly and firmly marked in 

 nature. 



OF CETACEOUS FISHES, 



THIS tribe comprifes the Whale, the Cachalot, the Dolphin, the 

 Grampus, and the PorpefTe. All thefe refemble quadrupedes in 

 their internal ftru<5ture, and in fome of their appetites and afFeftions. They 

 have lungs, a midriff, a ftomach, inteftines, liver, fpleen, bladder, &c. 

 Their heart alfo refembles that of quadrupedes, with its partitions clofed 

 up, as in them, and driving red and warm blood in circulation through 

 the body. Every internal part bears a moft llriking fimilitude ; and, to 

 keep thefe parts warm, the whole kind are covered, between the ikin and 

 the mufcles, with a thick coat of fat or blubber, like the bacon-fat of a hog. 

 As thefe animals breathe, they are conftrained, every two or three minutes, 

 to come up to the furface to take breath, as well as to fpout out through 

 their noflril what water they have fucked in. This conduit is placed in 

 the head, a little before the brain. Though externally the hole is fingle, 

 it is internally divided by a bony partition, which is clofed by a fphinfter 

 mufcle on the infide, that fhuts it up at the pleafurc of the animal. Ano- 

 ther- mufclc or valve prevents the water from going down the gullet. 

 \{hzn therefore a quantity of water is neceffary to be difcharged, it Ihuts 



;he 



