THE SPERM WHALK 



593 



The cachelot or sperm-whale (Fig. 515) has an enormous 

 head, and is without the power of smell. Above the nasal, 

 frontal, and maxillary bones are cavities filled with a fatty 

 fluid called spermaceti, used in the manufacture of candles, 

 ointments, and cosmetics, such as cold cream. A large sperm- 





Fig. 514. Head and tongue of finback whale, Salwnoptera (the latter (a) swollen 

 by the gases of decomposition) ; b, whalebone plates. 



whale will yield 2500 kilograms of this substance. Another 

 valuable substance is ambergris, a morbid product, the result 

 of injury to the intestine by the beaks of cuttle-fishes, upon 

 which animals the toothed whales largely prey. It is a kind 

 of bezoar or gall-stone, fatty, aromatic, burning with a clear 

 flame. It is composed of benzoic acid, united with chlorine, 

 of a balsamic substance, and ambrain. It is used in making 

 perfumes. 



Fig. 515. Outline of the cachelot, showing how the blabber is removed; b, the 

 situation of the " case "; c, the jnnk ; d, the bunch of the neck ; h, the hump ; t, th 

 ridge ; *, the small ; X 1 , the tail or flukes : between the oblique dotted kneg are the 

 spiral strips or blanket pieces. After Beale, from Gill. 



But the chief use of whales is the oil extracted from the 

 fat enveloping the body, called blubber by whalers. The 

 most valuable of the whales is the Greenland whale, as it 

 contains the most oil, individuals having been known to 

 yield nearlv three hundred barrels. 



