492 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



dred thousand pounds, that its mass is equal to that of a 

 hundred rhinoceroses, a hundred hippopotami, or a hun- 

 dred elephants, we must conceive that the shock of such a 

 tremendous battery, coming with the rapidity of lightning, 

 must strike like a thunderbolt. It is not surprising, there- 

 fore, that it should spread destruction around wherever the 

 blows do not fall short of their aim. 



There is an insect of the family of the Crustacea, com- 

 monly called the Whale-louse, that very much infests and 

 annoys this immense animal. It attaches itself so strongly 

 to the skin, that it cannot be removed without tearing it. 

 It particularly attaches itself to the commissure of the fins, 

 to the lips, and to the organs of generation ; to the most 

 sensible parts, and where the animal cannot so easily rid 

 itself of the annoyance by rubbing : the bites of this insect 

 are deep and painful. 



Other insects also swarm upon the body, and multiply, 

 particularly on the tongue, to such an extent, as almost 

 completely to eat through it, and thus cause the death of 

 the animal. 



These insects, and Crustacea, frequently attract a num- 

 ber of sea-birds on the broad back of the Whale, which are 

 partial to these importunate vermin, and hunt them there 

 without constraint or ceremony, performing a very useful 

 and agreeable office to the Whale, in ridding him of his 

 troublesome guests. 



Of the time necessary for the developement of the Whale 

 we are quite ignorant ; all we know is, that this develope- 

 ment goes on very slowly. It is now many ages since man 

 began to pursue this enormous animal, and yet it does not 

 appear that any taken since the first commencement of 

 whale-fishing, have at all equalled the size of the earliest 

 whales that were captured in the Polar Seas. The life of 

 the Whale may last for many ages, and we shall not consider 

 it any exaggeration to suppose that it may reach to a thou- 



