CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 12. CETACEA. 655 



inches, and that of a large whale will weigh about thirty tons, furnishing from twenty to twenty- 

 five tuns of oil. Whales have been taken which gave thirty tuns of oil. The whalebone or baleen 

 is also an important part. The longest laminae in a large whale usually measure about fourteen 

 feet in length, but the greater part are shorter : the width of each plate is 12 to 15 inches. The 

 whole quantity obtained from one animal weighs sometimes as much as three thousand pounds. 

 The number of plates is usually about three hundred in each of the outer rows, but large individ- 

 uals have been found with four hundred in each row. 



To the Esquimaux and the Greenlander this species is all important. They eat the flesh and fat 

 with indescribable relish. The membranes of the abdomen serve them for clothing, and the thin, 

 transparent peritoneum admits light through the windows of their huts while it keeps out the 

 weather. The bones are made into props for their tents, or aid in the formation of their boats. 

 and supply them with harpoons and spears for the capture of the seal and larger sea-birds. 

 The sinews, divided into filaments, are used as thread for sewing their dress, &c. Some have 

 stated that pickled and boiled blubber is palatable, and that the tail, first parboiled and then fried, 

 is agreeable eating. The flesh of the young whale is said to be by no means indifferent food. 

 To civilized nations the oil made from the fat or blubber and the whalebone have Ion" made the 

 whale a great commercial object. 



The affection of the female for her offspring is great. The young whale, when just born, meas- 

 ures from ten to fourteen feet in length, and for a twelvemonth or more after its birth it remains 

 in close attendance upon its mother. It furnishes but little oil, and the whalers, therefore, do not 

 care to take it for its own sake ; but as it is easily harpooned, it is frequently struck in order to 

 attract the mother to its assistance. Mr. Scoresby gives an interesting account of the devotion 

 of the parent to its young under these circumstances. He savs: "In June, 1811, one of my har- 

 pooners struck a sucker, with the hope of its leading to the capture of the mother. Presently 

 she arose close by the 'fast-boat,' and, seizing the young o"ne, dragged about a hundred fathoms 

 of line out of the boat with remarkable force and velocity. Again she arose to the surface, darted 

 furiously to and fro, frequently stopped short, or changed her direction, and gave every possible 

 intimation of extreme agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though closely pur- 

 sued by the boats, and, inspired with courage and resolution by her concern for her offspring, 

 seemed regardless of the danger which surrounded her. At length, one of the boats approached 

 so near that a harpoon was hove at her. It hit, but did not attach itself. A second harpoon was 

 struck; this also failed to penetrate; but a third was more effectual, and held. Still she did not 

 attempt to escape, but allowed other boats to approach, so that in a few minutes three more har- 

 poons were fastened, and in the course of an hour afterward she was killed." 



The Nord Kapper or Nord Caper and the Rock-nosed Whale are varieties of the preceding. 



The Western Australian Whale, B. marginata, has very long and slender baleen, with a 

 rather broad, black edge on the outer or straight side. From the character of the baleen Dr. 

 Gray considers this a distinct species. 



The Cape Whale, B. Australis, is the Right Whale of South Sea whalers; the Southern 

 Wlialebone Whale of Nunn ; the Common Black Whale of Sir James Ross. It inhabits the 

 South Seas, and is of a uniform black color. It is of large size, and great numbers of it are taken 

 near New Zealand and the Cape of Good Hope. 



The Japan Whale, B. Japonica, is an inhabitant of the coasts of Japan, which it visits period- 

 ically. Its head is covered with barnacles. 



The New Zealand Whale, B. antarctica, is the Tuku Peru of the natives. 



The Scrag-Whale, B. gibbosa, is regarded as a species by Dr. J. E. Gray. It is an inhabitant 

 of the Atlantic Ocean, and is near akin to the Finback, but instead of a fin upon its back, the ridge 

 of the after part of its back is scragged with half a dozen knobs or knuckles. 



The remaining genera of the Balcenidce have either fins or humps on their hacks, and are 

 called Hump-backs and Finners. 



The Genus MEGAPTERA : Megaptera, includes the Hump-backed Whales. They are easily 

 known from the Finners in being shorter and more robust, the skull nearly one-fourth the entire 

 length, the head wider between the eyes, the mouth larger, the lip warty, and the nose large and 



