PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS. 



the whale is a triangular-shaped cavity, called by the whalers 

 " the case." Into this the whalers make an opening, and take 

 out the liquid contents (oil and spermaceti) by a bucket. 

 The dense mass of cellular tissue beneath the case and nos- 

 tril, and which is technically called "junJc" also contains sper- 

 maceti, with which and oil its tissue is infiltrated. The sper- 

 maceti from the case is carefully boiled alone and placed in 

 separate casks, when it is called " head-matter" The sub- 

 stance called head-matter consists of spermaceti and sperm 

 oil. Its color is yellow. Its consistence varies with the tem- 

 perature. In cold weather it consists of a congealed mass 

 (spermaceti) surrounded and infiltrated by oil. To separate 

 the latter as much as possible, the mass is put into hair bags 

 and pressed between two plates of iron, in a screw-press, until 

 it becomes hard and brittle. It is then broken in pieces and 

 thrown into boiling water, where it melts, and the impurities 

 rising to the surface are skimmed off. After being cooled 

 and separated from the water, it is put into fresh water in a 

 large boiler, and a weak lye of the potassa of commerce added 

 to it by degrees. This part of the process is thrice repeated, 

 and the whole poured into coolers, where the spermaceti con- 

 cretes into a white, semitransparent mass, which, on being cut 

 into small pieces, assumes the flaky aspect it has in the stores. 



The Spermaceti whale or Cachalot resembles in size and 

 appearance the Large Whalebone whale (Balcena myslicetus)^ 

 the value of which to man is such, that large fleets are annu- 

 ally fitted out expressly for its capture. The food of the 

 whale consists exclusively of small molluscous and crustaceous 

 animals, but chiefly the Clio borealis, and as these animals 

 abound only in the Arctic seas, the whale cannot be expected 

 to frequent for any length of time those latitudes in which its 

 food is scarce or altogether wanting. The annual destruction 

 of the Balcena mysticetus has greatly diminished its numbers, 

 and driven it to the extremest limits of the Northern seas, 

 where its means of subsistence can be obtained. 



The Large Whalebone whale is often spoken of as the lar- 

 gest of existing animals, but it is inferior in magnitude to the 

 Small Whalebone whale (Balcenoptera). The latter attains 

 the length of from ninety to one hundred feet, while the ordi- 

 nary dimensions of the true whale are from fifty to sixty feet 

 in length, and from thirty to forty feet in circumference. The 

 terms " Large Whalebone" and " Small Whalebone" relate to 



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