SmBALD'S RORQUAL OR BLUE WHALE 



to drag a steamship through the water for many hours, with the engines 

 at half-speed astern. 



The * spout ' of the animal is described by Mr. Millais as " much loftier 

 than that of any other cetacean," and can be seen on a clear day at a 

 distance of several miles. Three which he saw in August 1905, off 

 Newfoundland, frequently spouted to a height of thirty feet. 



Unlike the Right Whales and Sperm, the body of the Blue Whale and 

 other Rorquals sinks after death and requires to be hauled to the surface by 

 the strong hawser attached to the harpoon, worked by a winch on board ship. 



To keep the carcase afloat, steam is driven into it through a pipe, and 

 when possible it is taken to a station or factory to be cut up. 



The whalebone of the Rorquals is of little value compared to that of the 

 Right Whales, but the oil brings a good price, and various products are now 

 obtained from the bones and flesh, the latter being dried, and ground into 

 meal to feed cattle. Combined with the bones, it is also used as a fertiliser. 



Like the others of this family, the female Blue Whale carefully tends her 

 calf, until it is able to fend for itself. 



THE COMMON RORQUAL. 



Balcenoptera musculus, Linnaeus. 

 Plate 43. 



The Common Rorqual, generally called the ' Finner ' by whalers, 

 measures when full grown up to 70 and even 80 feet. 



The body is remarkably long and slender, with little diminution in the 

 girth of the posterior portion as it approaches the tail, the flippers are small, 

 the dorsal fin prominent and rather triangular in shape. 



According to Millais the colour of the upper part " is not black as 



jr. 65 I 



