ORDER VI. THE CETACEA. 241 



encumbrance to the whale, insures greater buoyancy, lightness, and conse- 

 quently activity, from its being specifically lighter than the waters of the ocean. 



Tills order has no nostrils j)ro|)er, but in place of them tubes, which open 

 on the top of the head, called bloiv-liules or spiracles, through which the 

 air is received into the lungs, for tlio piu'puse of respiration. As these 

 tubes are liable to be filled with water whenever the whale dives, they .are 

 provided at their lower terminus witii a set of valves, which eftcctually keep 

 tile water from entering the lungs, and tiius destroying the animal. 



These tubes, or blow-holes, are the apparatus by which the act of sjMuling, 

 or blowing, is performed. Allhough all the species possess this peculiar 

 mechanism, tliey do not appear equally to have the power of employing it in 

 tills manner. This operation is most conspicuous in the larger genera, quite 

 marked in tlie intermediate, wliile the smaller have very rarely, if ever, been 

 seen to spout. As to tiie precise character and object of these spoutings, 

 tlicre are so many conllicting opinions among tiie authors, that it is impos- 

 silile to airi\e at any definite conclusion ; nor is it decided whether the voice 

 of llie wliaie, or its power of bellowing, is in any way connected with the 

 sjiii'aclos. Ill regard tu this latter capacity there is also a great difference 

 of opinion, ilr. i^oicsby asserts that "whales have no voice;" but on the 

 contraiy, Cuvier remarks, "As to their power of uttering cries and bellow- 

 iiigs, iiuirc or less acute, we cannot, after the assertions wliieh have been 

 made by tbuse wlio hc;ird them, any longer entertain a doubt." Tlie follow- 

 ing was one of the facts reported to this illustrious naturalist, and which 

 ciicifed the above observation: "In January, 1812, some fishermen of 

 Paimpol, observing a number of small whales, of the porpoise genus, at some 

 distance from shore, supplied themselves witli arms, and gave chase, endeav- 

 oring to drive iheni towards tiie land. They succeeded in frightening them, 

 and hunted one of the smallest from the deep. "When stranded in shallow 

 water it began to utter cries, which speedily bi'ought others, among the first 

 of which its mother was supposed to be one. She, however, was accom- 

 panied by many ; the cries were augmented as the number of those in peril 

 increased, and iiuully they all, to the number of seventy, violently precipi- 

 tated themselves among tlie shallows, and were taken." Another instance 

 occurred on the coast of La Vendee, in 1822, and is thus related by 

 Orbigny : " In the month of June many of the inhabitants of Arguillon were 

 aroused at IIP. jSI. by a dreadful noise, which evidently proceeded from the 

 sea-shore, and which they compared to the bellowing of a hundred bulls. 

 Some of the most courageous of them went to discover what it was ; but, 

 terrified liy the extraordinary noise, more appalling during the silence of 

 the night, and increased by heavy blows on land and sea, tiiey returned to 

 their homes. "When day appeared, they saw four great animals struggling 



KO. VII. 31 



