THE SPER2I WHALE. 75 



diameter. Above, and at the junction of the head with the body proper, is a swell 

 called the "bunch of the neck." About midway between this protuberance and 

 the caudal fin, is another and larger bunch, called the "hump;" then follows a 

 succession of smaller processes along the "small," toward the posterior extremity, 

 which is termed the "ridge." The pectorals, or side-fins, are placed a little behind 

 and below the eyes, and in size rarely exceed six feet iu length and three feet in 

 width. The caudal fin is about six feet in breadth, and measures twelve to fifteen 

 feet between the extremities, or about one -sixth the length of the whole animal. 

 Unlike the baleen whales, the Cachalot has but one spiracle, or spout-hole, which is 

 placed near the anterior and upper extremity of the liead, a little npon the left 

 side ; its external form is nearly like the letter S. This fissure iu the adult is ten 

 or twelve inches in length. The color of the Sperm Whale is generally black, or 

 blackish -brown above; a little lighter upon the sides and below, except on the 

 breast, where it becomes a silvery gray. Some examples, however, are piebald. 

 The oldest males are frccjuontly well-marked with gray about the nose, or upper 

 portion of the head, and when this is indicated, they are called "gray -headed." 



In the young Sperm "Whales, as in the young of all Cetaceans, the black- 

 skin, or epidermis, is much heavier than in the adults, it being half an inch in 

 thickness, or thereabouts, while it does not exceed a quarter of an inch on the old 

 whale. As age advances, the skin becomes more furrowed. Beneath the black- 

 skin lies the rich coating of fat, or blul)ber, which yields the valuable oil of 

 commerce. The head produces nearly one -third of all the oil obtained. Next 

 to and above the bone of the upper jaw (whicli is termed the "coach," or 

 "sleigh"), is a huge mass of cartilaginous, elastic, tough fat, which is called the 

 "junk." Above the "junk," on the right side of the head, is a largo cavity, or 

 sack, termed the "case," which contains oil in its naturally fluid state, together with 

 the granulated substance known as "spermaceti." From this capacious hidden 

 receptacle, as much as fifteen barrels of " head -matter" has been obtained. The 

 "ambergris," which is so highly prized, is nothing more than the retained anal 

 concretion of a diseased whale. On the left side of the cranium, above the "junk," 

 is the breathing -passage, or nostril, of the whale. This, with the "case," is pro- 

 tected by a thick, tough, elastic substance called the "head- skin," which is proof 

 against the harpoon. 



We now come to the general habits of this gigantic animal, relative to its 

 movements in the vast oceans of the globe. Among the whole order of Cetaceans, 

 there is no other which respires with the same regularity as the Cachalot. When 

 emerging to the surface, the first portion of the animal seen is the region of the 



