THE RORQUAL. 



S 2 7 



being the most prevalent. The head of this species is elongated and rather flattened, 

 and the throat and chest are furnished with very longitudinal folds, which are capable 

 of dilatation to a great extent. 



At the extremity of the snout there are eight distinct bristles, arranged in perpendic- 

 ular rows on the top of each jaw. It has been called by a great number of names by 

 different writers, and is mentioned by various authors under no less than seventeen 

 distinct titles. The color of this animal is black upon the upper parts of the body, and 

 white on the abdomen, tinged with a reddish hue. The pectoral fin is almost entirely 

 dark, but changes into white on its upper surface, near its base. 



The name Balaenoptera signifies " Finned- Whale," and is given to the animal on 

 account of the size of the pectoral fins. 



PIKE WHALE. 



rostrata. 



A GIANT among giant forms, the huge Rorqual roams the Arctic seas at will, seldom 

 molested by the hunter, and scarcely ever captured. 



The bulk of this animal is greater than that of any other Whale, as many specimens 

 have been known to attain a length of more than one hundred feet, and one or two have 

 reached the extraordinary length of one hundred and twenty feet. By inexperienced 

 whalers it is sometimes mistaken for the Greenland Whale and harpooned, but is very 

 seldom killed ; for the creature is so remarkably active and fearless that in many cases 

 the aggressors have paid dearly for their error by a crushed boat and the loss of several 

 lives. On one such occasion the Rorqual started off in a direct line, and at such a 

 speed that the men lost their presence of mind and forgot to cut the rope that con- 



