THE SPOUTING AND MOVEMENTS OF WHALES. 681 



difficult to believe that the spout of each oritice can preserve its indi- 

 vidualit3^ It is not possible, then, to see them separately, even when 

 one observes the animal from in front, the only position in which one 

 can theoretical!}' distinguish this duality. 



5. Nature of the apoiit. — The greatest uncertainty has reigned for a 

 long time as to the nature of the substance thrown out by the whales 

 when spouting. Aristotle (Histor}' of Animals, viii, 2) declares that 

 "at the same time that it (the dolphin) takes in the water and ejects 

 it through its blowhole it has a lung, through which it receives the 

 air and breathes." The real nature of the cetaceans was thus estab- 

 lished at this early day, but at the same time also the idea that these 

 animals throw out water through their blowholes. Pliny (Natural 

 History) did much to cause this last belief to be adopted b}^ citing- 

 some definite cases. He shows the "physeter - * * diluviem 

 quandam eructans. " (Liber ix, cap. iv. ) He even mentions having seen 

 a killer whale fill and swamp a boat with his spout, — "quorum unum 

 (navigium) mergi vidimus, reflatu bellua' oppletum unda.'' (Liber ix, 

 cap. VI.) 



Although this idea is absolutely false, it was adopted without dis- 

 cussion, and only at the beginning of the nineteenth century was the 

 notion abandoned, not, however, without contest and without its reap- 

 pearance from time to time. Thus F. Cuvier (1838) still admitted it. 

 And actually even Bruce (1896), who was the naturalist of the Balsena^ 

 maintained it, and Dahl (Heuking, 1901, p. 3, note 7) is said to have 

 established it very recently in the case of a cetacean which he believed 

 to be a sperm whale. 



So far as I know, it was Fabricius (1780), the conscientious observer, 

 who first expressly said that whales expel only air charged with 

 vapor, and, following him, I will mention, among those who are 

 authorities in cetology and have themselves observed cetaceans, 

 Scoresby (1820), Baer (1826 and 1836), Beale (1839), Bennett (1810), 

 Holboll (Eschricht, 1849), Baer (1861), Thiercelin (1866), Brierly, 

 Haglund, Torrell (Lilljeborg, 1866), Scammon (1871), and all recent 

 cetologists. 



The proofs that whales do not expel water through the nostrils, 

 but air saturated with vapor, like all mammals without exception, are 

 many and of different kinds. I will give a brief summary of them, 

 taking notice of those already given by cetologists and adding those 

 derived from my own observations. 



The spout has neither the form nor the appearance of a jet produced 

 b}' water escaping under pressure, but very much the flocculent 

 appearance of a cloud. It is seen that this cloud is blown along b}^ 

 the wind, like ordinary vapor; it is seen to spread out and dissolve 

 in the air and not to fall in a cascade as it would if it were water. It 

 is absolutely impossil)le for a conscientious observer to doubt the 

 SM 1903 11 



