• VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. 91 



there are generally 200 on each side, which are 

 fit for use. The breadth of the largest, at the 

 thick end, where they are attached to the jaw, 

 is about a foot. When the longest of these la- 

 minae measures six feet, the whale is called a pay- 

 able or size fish ; for every one of which that is 

 caught, the captain generally gets three guineas, 

 the surgeon one, the carpenter one, &c The 

 whalebone is covered with long hair like that of 

 a horse, which not only preserves the tongue 

 from being hurt, but prevents their food from 

 being returned when they eject the water from 

 their mouths. The throat is not more than three 

 or four inches wide ; eyes and ears small. In 

 the middle of the head are two orifices, commonly 

 called bloio holes, through which they eject water 

 to a great height. No dorsal fin ; a large one un- 

 der each eye. Body tapers gradually towards the 

 tail, which is often above twenty feet broad, semi- 

 lunar, and horizontal in respect to the body. Female 

 larger than the male ; her teats placed in the lower 

 part of the belly. 



The colour of the whale varies with its age ; 

 the back of some being black, of others black and 

 white, and some are all white ; under jaw and belly 

 generally white, whatever may be their age. Some 



