366 THE GREENLAND WHALE. 



preservation of her cub ; dashing furiously to and fro, and 

 not fearing to rise in the very midst of the attacking 

 boats. Except, however, when the mother is called upon 

 to defend her young, the male is generally more active and 

 dangerous than the female. 



III. DIFFERENT SPECIES OF CETACEA. 



The great family of the Cetacea is divided into two 

 tribes : the Ordinary and the Herbivorous Cetacea. The 

 former, including the whales, is, as we have seen, wholly 

 aquatic in its habits, and lives in the open sea ; the latter, 

 including the dugong and manatee, is found only in the 

 estuaries of great rivers, or the shallow waters of the 

 shore, and feeds upon the vegetable growth of these 

 localities. 



It is to the former, which is the more numerous and 

 varied tribe, that we shall limit our attention. 



The principal species is the Greenland or Right Whale, 

 an inhabitant of the polar waters, and the staple of an 

 important commerce. He is sought in preference to any 

 other species, because he yields the most oil ; and, from the 

 comparative slowness of his movements and timidity of 

 his nature, is captured with the greatest ease. 



In some of the old books we meet with the most won- 

 derful stories of this species ; but Dr. Scoresby has 

 proved that the Greenland whale seldom exceeds sixty 

 feet in length, and never seventy. His greatest girth is 

 just behind the swimming fins, and near the middle of the 

 body, whence it gradually tapers in a conical form towards 

 the tail, and still more gradually towards the head, which 

 is of extraordinary bulk, forming nearly one-third of the 



