The Cetacea, or Whales, 121 



perienced sailors who are unable to distinguish it from 

 the Greenland species. 



The food of the rorqual consists not only of the 

 minute creatures before mentioned, but also of the 

 larger fish, such as the cod, etc. The nature of the 

 food being so different, the gullet of this whale is of 

 much greater size than in the Greenland whale, in 

 which animal it barely exceeds two inches in diameter. 

 There is a popular saying among seamen that the 

 Greenland whale can swim a jolly-boat and crew in its 

 mouth, and yet be choked with a herring. 



In search of its prey, the rorqual often follows the 

 shoals of fish from place to place, and occasionally 

 takes up its quarters upon the borders of the fisheries, 

 to which it causes considerable damage. In such a 

 case it often happens that, pursuing its wished-for prey 

 rather too rashly, it becomes stranded upon the beach, 

 where it is utterly helpless, and is easily slain. A 

 year seldom passes, even in our own country, without 

 a rorqual or two being stranded upon the shores. 



The rorqual may be distinguished from the Green- 

 land whale by its dark-greyish hue, by its more 

 slender form, and by the fact of its possessing a 

 dorsal fin. The skin lies in deep longitudinal folds 

 along the under parts of the body, for which reason 

 the name ' rorqual ' was given to it, that title being 

 derived from a Norwegian word signifying a ' whale 

 with folds.' 



The Spermaceti Whale ( Catodon macrocephalus), or 

 Cachalot, is of great value to mankind, both on 

 account of the oil procured from the blubber, which is 

 of a very fine quality, and also of the substance known 

 as spermaceti, which is found in considerable 

 quantities. 



This whale differs in several important points from 

 the two preceding species. 



