THE WHALE. 295 



Greenland-whale has no back fin, and the back is co- 

 vered with a sable hue. The Iceland-whale is white 

 upon the back, and, like the former, it wants the back 

 fin. The I\ew-England whale has a hump upon the 

 back. The whale with six humps on the same place. 

 The fin-fish, with a fin on the back, near the tail. The 

 pike-headed whale, and the round-lipped whale. All 

 these differ in figure, as the distinguishing marks in 

 their names imply. They vary also in their manner of 

 living ; yet none are allowed to be of a very voracious 

 kind ; and, when compared with the cachalot, that ty- 

 rant of the deep, may be considered harmless, if not 

 tame : their history, therefore, may be comprised un- 

 der that of the great common Greenland-whale, which 

 will be sufficient to give an idea of the rest. 



The Greenland-whale is a large heavy animal, the 

 head of which makes one third of its size, and usually 

 measures from sixty to seventy feet : the fins on each 

 side are from five to eight feet in length ; and the tail, 

 which always lies flat upon the w r ater, is said to mea- 

 sure twenty-four feet in breadth : this is their only in- 

 strument of destruction ; for the fishermen's boats are 

 often overset with a single blow ; and with this it forces 

 its passage through the immeasurable ocean ; and only, 

 in turning, makes use of the fins. Though the fins are 

 not the means of promoting the whale's progress, yet 

 the female applies to their aid when pursued or in dis- 

 tress ; for in those cases she puts her young between 

 her shoulders, and prevents them from falling off, by 

 supporting them with her fins. 



The cleft of the mouth is above twenty feet long, and 

 the upper jaw is furnished with barbs like the pipes of 

 an organ, of which the whalebone in ladies' dresses is 

 entirely composed : and the other bones of this enor- 



u 4 



