THE WHALE. S3 



Whaleboue. 



not perceptible ; but as soon as tbe thin scarf- 

 *kin is removed, a black spot is discovered be- 

 hind the eye, and under that is the auditory ca- 

 nal, that leads to a regular apparatus for hearing. 



The whalebone, as it is called, is placed on the 

 inside of the mouth, and is attached to the upper 

 jaw: it is of the same nature as horn, and is 

 composed wholly of animal substances. It is ex- 

 tremely elastic, and consists of thin plates of 

 some breadth, and in some species, of very con- 

 siderable length. These plates are placed in se- 

 veral rows encompassing the outer skirts of the 

 upper jaw, like the teeth in other animals. They 

 stand parallel to each other, having one edge 

 towards the circumference of the mouth, and 

 the other towards the centre or cavity. The 

 outer row is composed of the longest plates, and 

 these are in proportion to the different distances 

 between the two jaws, some being fourteen or 

 .fifteen feet long, but towards the anterior and 

 posterior parts of the mouth they are very short. 

 They rise for half a foot or more, nearly of equal 

 breadths, and afterwards shelve off from the inner 

 side till they come near to a point at the outer. 

 The exterior of the inner rows are the longest, 

 corresponding to the termination of the declivity 

 of the outer, and becoming shorter and shorter 

 till they severally rise above the gum. This 

 whalebone is continually wearing down, and re- 

 aewing in the same proportion. 



Its tail is broad and semi-lunar ; and when the 



VOL. v. NO. 31. E 



