524 FOOD OF THE GREENLAND WHALE. 



position in the accompanying illustration, which is taken from a photographic portrait 

 of the skeleton in the great Museum of Comparative Anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes. 



The Whalebone, or baleen, is found in a series of plates, thick and solid at the in- 

 sertion into the jaw, and splitting at the extremity into a multitude of hair-like fringes. 

 On each side of the jaw there are more than three hundred of these plates, which in a 

 fine specimen are about ten or twelve feet long, and eleven inches wide at their base. 

 The weight of baleen which is furnished by a large Whale is about one ton. This sub- 

 stance does not take its origin directly from the gum, but from a peculiar vascular forma- 

 tion which rests upon it. These masses of baleen are placed along the sides of the mouth 

 for the purpose of aiding the Whale in procuring its food and separating it from the water. 



The mode of feeding which is adopted by the Whale is as follows. The animal 

 frequents those parts of the ocean which are the best supplied with the various creatures 

 on which it feeds, and which are all of very small size, as is needful from the size of 

 its gullet, which is not quite two inches in diameter. Small shrimps, crabs and lobsters, 

 together with various molluscs and medusae, form the diet on which the vast bulk of 

 the Greenland Whale is sustained. Driving with open mouth through the congregated 

 shoals of these little creatures, the Whale engulphs them by millions in its enormous 

 jaws, and continues its destructive course until it has sufficiently charged its mouth with 

 prey. Closing its jaws and driving out through the interstices of the Whalebone the 

 water which it has taken together with its prey, it retains the captured animals which 

 are entangled in the Whalebone, and swallows them at its ease. The multitude of these 

 little creatures that must hourly perish is so enormous, that the prolific powers of nature 

 would seem inadequate to keep up a supply of food for the herds of Whales that inhabit: 

 the Northern Seas. Yet the supply is more than equal to the demand, for the sea is 

 absolutely reddened for miles by the countless millions of living beings that swarm in 

 its waters. 



The Whale is an animal of very great value to civilized and to savage men. The oil 

 which is procured in great quantities from its blubber and other portions of its structure 

 is almost invaluable to us, while the bones and baleen find their use in every civilized 

 land. To the natives of the polar regions, however, the Whale is of still greater value, as 

 they procure many necessaries of life from various parts of its body, eat the flesh, and 

 drink the oil. Repulsive as such a diet may appear to us who live in a comparatively 

 warm region, it is an absolute necessity in these ice-bound lands, such oleaginous diet 

 being needful in order to keep up the heat of the body by a bountiful supply of carbon. 



Civilized beings, even though they may be living for the time in these northern regions, 

 find themselves almost unable to join in the greasy banquet which so entirely delights 

 the native palate. There are, however, some portions of the Whale which can be eaten 

 without difficulty, and are rather palatable than otherwise. The skin of the Whale, 

 when properly dressed, is of ebony blackness, and not at all attractive to the eye. But 

 its flavor is quite agreeable, and is said to bear some resemblance to that of the cocoa- 

 nut. When prepared for the table it is cut into little cubes like black dice. But the 

 best part of the Whale is one that would hardly be expected to form an article of diet, 

 namely, the portion of the gums in which the roots of the baleen are still imbedded. 

 The Tuskis call this substance their sugar, though its flavor is very like that of cream- 

 cheese. One traveller who had been obliged, through motives of politeness, to take 

 part in a native banquet, and who had been more than disgusted by the very remark- 

 able dishes which were brought to table, became quite enthusiastic on the merits of 

 Whale's skin and gum, acknowledging himself to be agreeably surprised by the former, 

 and calling the latter article of diet "perfectly delicious." 



The chase of the Whale, its dangers and its excitement, are too well known to need 

 description in these pages, and only as far as they form part of the animal's history 

 will they be noticed. 



In its character the Greenland Whale is inoffensive and timorous, and except when 

 roused by the pain of a wound or by the sight of its offspring in danger, will always flee 

 the presence of man. Sometimes, however, it turns fiercely upon the boat from which the 

 fatal weapon has been launched, and with a single blow of its enormous tail its only 

 weapon has been known to shatter a stout boat to fragments, driving men, ropes, and 



