THE OCEAN-GIANT. 353 



system, like that of the horse or lion ; that like other 

 mammals, he has a pulmonic circulation. Yet in common 

 parlance it is still customary to speak of the whale as a 

 fish, and of the whale-fishery. No doubt the general out- 

 line of his body, as we have said, is " fish-like ;" but con- 

 sider the modified character of his limbs, his horizontal 

 flattened caudal fin or tail, the tough leathery skin or 

 hide, the solid and expansive bones of the face, the 

 peculiar structure of the skull, the development of the 

 vertebral column, and the formation of the ribs, and you 

 will see that he is truly and actually a mamma], a mam- 

 mal adapted to an ocean-life. 



Adapted to an ocean-life'? yes, and adapted in a most- 

 ingenious and interesting manner. A close examination 

 of details, however, would carry us into the domains of 

 comparative anatomy, and we must content ourselves here 

 with indicating only a few of the more important. 



In the first place, then, let us direct the reader's atten- 

 tion to the ocean-giant's "extremities." At a cursory 

 glance, he will see little or no resemblance between the 

 human arm and the "flipper" or "swimming paddle;" 

 but if he saw the osseous structure, the skeleton, the 

 points of coincidence would immediately become apparent. 

 We may say of them that they are like, and yet unlike } 

 the same organ, but modified to a different end. 



Next, we have to remember that the whale is an aquatic, 

 or rather pelagic mammal, seeking the "unfathomable 

 depths " of ocean, and consequently required to endure an 

 extraordinary pressure. How has it been fitted for this 

 purpose? 



Partly by its shape, which is that of a cylinder ; partly 

 by the arrangement and solidity of its bones, and partly 



