OF T H E W H A L E. iir 



at all times, except when it is fpoutlng water ; which is the time that the 

 filhers approach to ftrike it. 



The fpout-holes or noftrils in this whale are two; one on each fide 

 the head, before the eyes, and crooked, fomewhat like the holes on the 

 belly of a violin. From thefe holes this animal blows the water very 

 fiercely, and with fuch a noife that it roars like a hollow wind, and may 

 be heard at three miles diftance. When wounded, it then blows more 

 fiercely than ever. To that it founds like the roaring of the fea in a great 

 ftorm. 



The real bones are hard, like thofe of great land animals, very porous, 

 and filled with marrow. Two great flrong bones fuflain the under lip, 

 lying againft each other in the Hiapeof a half-moon : fome of thefe are 

 twenty feet long. 



The whale goes with young nine or ten months, and is then fatter than 

 ufual, particularly when near the time of bringing forth. The cub, 

 when excluded, is black, and about ten feet long. When fhe fuckles 

 her young, fhe throws herfelf on one fide, on the furface of the fea, and 

 the young one attaches itfelf to the teat. The breafts are two, generally 

 hid within the belly; but fhe can produce them at pleafure, fo as to 

 ftand forward a foot and a half, or two feet ; and the teats are like thofe 

 of a cow. In fome, the breads are white ; in others fpeckled ; in all, 

 filled with a large quantity of milk, refembling that of land animals. The 

 young continue at the breafl: for a year ; during which time they are call- 

 ed by the hWors Jhort-beads. They are then extremely fat, and yield 

 above fifty barrels of blubber. The mother, at the fame time, is equally 

 lean and emaciated. At the age of two years tliey are C2i\hdjfu72is, as 

 they do not thrive much immediarely afcer quitting the breafl: ; they 

 then yield fcarce above twenty or twenty-four barrels of blubber : from 

 that time forward they are cdWtdJkull-Jijhy and their age is wholly unknown. 



Every fpecies of whale propagates only with thofe of its own kind, and 

 does not at all mingle with the reft : however, they are generally feen in 

 llioals of different kinds together, and make their migrations in large 

 companies from one ocean to another. They are a gregarious animal, 

 which implies their want of mutual defence againft the invafions of 

 fmaller, but more powerful fiihes. 



They cannot fwallow large fiihes, as their throat is fo narrow that aa 



animal larger than a herring could not enter. How then do they fubfift 



and grow fo fat P A fmall infe<5t which is feen floating in thofe feas, and 



which Linnsus terms the Medufa, is fu/ncicat for this fupply. Thefe 



a infefti 



