ICHTHYOLOGY. 13 



A. The PhyseterMacrocephalus, or large Sper- 

 maceti Whale, is often found sixty feet in length 

 and thirty in circumference. It has its lower jaw 

 furnished with a row of strong conical teeth, and 

 in the upper are corresponding cavities to receive 

 them when the mouth is closed. 



Q. What farther is remarkable of this fish ? 



A. The tongue which is an immense mass of 

 flesh, of a livid red colour, is, when roasted, con- 

 sidered as delicious food, and the bones are used 

 in the construction of various implements ; but 

 that for which the fish is principally sought after, 

 is the substance called Spermaceti, which the head 

 yields in great abundance. This whale is found 

 chiefly in the Greenland seas and in Davis's Straits. 



Q. Are not some species of this genus of a very 

 rapacious nature ? 



A. Yes ; particularly the My crops, which not 

 only commits great slaughter among the inferior 

 finny tribes, but actually encounters many other 

 species of whales, and even makes a prey of the 

 pike-headed whale and the porpoise. 



Q. Of what species is the genus Delphinus 

 composed ? 



Liv'id, <*. dark; discoloured with black and blue spots. 

 B 



