A STRANGE GIANT OF THE OCEAN 



is rectangular in shape, and contains an immense tank 

 filled with liquid oil known as "spermaceti." It is- 

 only necessary to cut an opening in the "case," as this 

 portion of the head is called, and with a bucket dip 

 out ten or fifteen barrels of oil. 



Spermaceti congeals slightly when cooled and in ap- 

 pearance is much like soft white paraffin. Beneath 

 the oil-case is a great mass of cellular tissue, called 

 the "junk," which also contains spermaceti although 

 not in a liquid condition. Spermaceti is used almost 

 entirely for lubricating fine pieces of machinery and 

 its quality is very much superior to the oil obtained 

 from the blubber. 



The use to the whale of the oil-case is largely a 

 matter of conjecture. My own belief is that it acts 

 as a great reservoir and that the animal draws upon it 

 for nourishment during periods of food scarcity. 

 Bears, seals, and other animals store up on their 

 bodies great quantities of fat which enable them to 

 live without food during hibernation, or the breeding 

 period, and the sperm whale is possibly a similar case; 

 some specimens are killed which are "dry," and have 

 practically no oil in either the blubber or head. 



Spermaceti should not be confused with "am- 

 bergris," a substance of great value in the manufacture 

 of perfumes, which is obtained only from the sperm 

 whale. Ambergris is due to a pathological condition 

 of the intestines and is never found in healthy whales. 

 It is impossible to tell just how the substance is formed, 

 but the fact that it often contains cuttlefish beaks leads 

 to the supposition that it is in some way connected with 



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