4^8 lUSToiiy OF 



are not siifllpient to counterbalance the great obvious analogy 

 which these animals bear to the whole finny tribe. They are 

 shaped as other fishes ; they swim with fins ; they are entirely 

 naked, without hair ; they live in the water, though they come 

 up to breathe ; they are only seen in the depths of the ocean, 

 and never come upon shore but when forced thither. These, 

 sure, are sufficient to plead in favour of the general denomina- 

 tion, and acquit mankind of error in ranking them with their 

 lower companions of the deep. 



But still they are many degrees raised above other fishes in 

 their nature, as they are in general in their size. This tribe is 

 composed of the AVhale and its varieties, of the Cachalot, the 

 Dolphin, the Grampus, and the Porpoise. All these resemble 

 quadrupeds in their internal structure, and in some of their ap- 

 petites and affections. Like quadrupeds, they have lungs, a 

 midriff, a stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, bladder, and parts of 

 generation ; their heart also resembles that of quadrupeds, with 

 its partitions closed up as in them, and driving red and warm 

 blood in circulation through the body. In short, every internal 

 part bears a most striking similitude ; and to keep these parts 

 warm, the whole kind are also covered, between the skin and the 

 muscles, with a thick coat of fat or blubber, which, like the ba- 

 con fat of a hog, keeps out the cold, renders their muscles glib 

 and pliant, agd probably makes them lighter in swimming. 



As these^nimals breathe the air, it is obvious that they can- 

 not bear to be any long time under water. They are constrained, 

 therefore, every two or three minutes, to come up to the surface 

 to take breath, as well as to spout out through their nostril (for 

 they have but one) that water which they sucked in while 

 gaping for their prey. This conduit by which they breathe, 

 and also throw out the water, is placed in the head, a little be- 

 fore the brain. Though externally the hole is but single, it is 

 internally divided by a bony partition, which is closed by a 

 sphincter muscle on the inside, that, like the mouth of a purse, 

 shuts it up at the pleasure of the animal. There is also another 

 muscle or valve, which prevents the water from going down the 

 gullet. When therefore, the animal takes in a certain quantity 

 of water, which is necessary to be discharged and separated from 

 its food, it shuts the mouth, closes the valve of the stomach, 

 opens the sphincter that kept the nostril closed, and then breath- 



