is THE WHALE. 127 
ately for the water. As they proceed their huge bodies tremble like masses of 
jelly, in consequence of the fat with which they are so heavily laden. So 
plentiful is this fat, that a single adult male will furnish about seventy gallons 
of clear and scentless oil. 
WHALES. 
The CETACEA, or WHALES, are more thoroughly aquatic than any other 
animals which have already been described, and are consequently framed in 
such a very fish-like manner that they have generally been considered as 
fishes by those who are but little acquainted with the animal kingdom. The 
entire livelihood of the Whale is obtained in the waters, and their entire 
structure is only fitted for traversing the waves, so that if they should happen 
to be cast upon the shore they have no means of regaining their native 
element, and are sure to perish miserably from hunger. 
When the Whales breathe, they are forced to rise to the surface of the sea, 
and there make a number of huge respirations, which are technically called 
“ spoutings,” because a column of mixed vapour and water is ejected from 
the nostrils, or “ blow-holes,” and spouts upwards to a great height, some- 
times as much as twenty feet. In order to enable the animal to respire 
without exposing itself unnecessarily, the “blow-holes” are placed on the 
upper part of the head, so that when a Whale is reposing itself on the surface 
of the sea, there is very little of its huge carcass visible, except the upper 
portion of the head and a part of the back. The “spoutings ” are made with 
exceeding violence, and can be heard at some distance. 
The limbs of the Whales are so modified in their form that they can hardly 
be recognised by their external appearance alone as the limbs of a 
veritable mammal. In shape they closely resemble the fins of fish, and it 
is not until they are stripped of the thick skin which envelopes them that 
the true limb is developed. They are, in fact, abnormal developments of 
the legs in order to suit an aquatic life, just as are the wings of the bat for 
an aérial life. The chief use of these organs seems to be that they assist the 
animal in preserving its position in the water, for the huge carcass rolls over 
on its back as soon as it is deprived of the balancing-power of its fins. They 
are also employed for the purpose of grasping 
the young whenever the mother Whale is 
anxious for the safety of her offspring, but 
they are of little use in urging the animal 
through the water, that duty being almost 
entirely performed by the tail. 
The skin of the Whales is devoid of hair, 
and is ofa rather peculiar structure, as is need- 
ful to enable it to resist the enormous pressure 
to which it is constantly subjected at the vast 
depths to which the animal descends. The 
skin is threefold, consisting first of the scarf- 
skin, or epidermis ; secondly, of the vete- 
mucosum, which gives colour to the animal; 
and thirdly, of the true skin, which is modi- FLIPPER OF THE WHALE. 
fied in order to meet the needs of the creature 
which it defends. The blubber, indeed, is nothing more than the true skin, 
which is composed of a number of interlacing fibres, capable of containing 
a very great amount of oily matter. This blubber is never less than several 
inches in thickness, and in many places is nearly two feet deep, and as 
