STRANDED AT LONGNIDDEY. 21 1 



these sources alone was very considerable. He has also furnished me with an 

 estimate of the weight of the other portions of the carcase; from which we 

 may make an approximation to the weight of the entire animal. The flesh 

 and viscera 36 tons, the baleen and " gum" 10 cwt., the skeleton 9 tons 10 

 cwt, the blood and refuse 12 tons, which, with the oil and fat, make in all 

 74 tons as an estimate of the weight of the entire animal. 



Mammary Gland. — The position of the nipple has already been described in 

 the section on the external form of the animal. The gland itself was exposed 

 by the removal of the blubber on one side of, and for several feet anterior to, 

 the genital fissure. It formed an elongated body, and measured between 7 and 8 

 feet in its antero-posterior diameter, and of this extensive mass only 8 inches lay 

 behind the nipple. Its greatest transverse diameter was 20 inches, and the thick- 

 ness of the gland substance, which surrounded any part of the great central 

 duct, was more than 6 inches. Its broadest part was in the region of the nipple, 

 gradually tapering off to its anterior end. Its colour was a rich red ; and its 

 subdivision into lobules by bands of connective tissue could be readily recog- 

 nised by the naked eye. When cut into, it was seen to be traversed along its 

 entire length by a central duct, which increased in size as it passed from before 

 backwards, and at the base of the nipple formed an enormous sinus, the trans- 

 verse diameter of which was about 8 inches. Numerous large ducts, into many 

 of which the closed hand could be passed for some distance, opened out of this 

 central duct, and extended into the various parts of the gland. The transverse 

 diameter of one of these ducts was 5^ inches. The orifices of the primary ducts 

 opening into the great central canal, and those of the smaller ducts which opened 

 into the primary, were mostly oblique in their direction, and a well-marked 

 fold of the mucous membrane bounded one-third, and sometimes more, of the 

 aperture. As a general rule, the direction of these ducts was towards the 

 nipple, but some ran in the opposite direction. The mucous membrane which 

 lined the ducts and central canal was firm, and marked on its free surface by a 

 characteristic ridge and furrow-like appearance (Plate VI. fig. 11). These ridges 

 were parallel to the long axis of the duct. At the base of the nipple the great 

 sinus-like dilatation of the central canal suddenly narrowed to the duct within 

 the nipple, which was not larger than would admit the middle finger or thumb. 

 The lobules of the gland were polygonal in shape and variable in size; some of 

 the larger ones had a diameter of ^th inch. Sections through the lobules 

 examined microscopically gave very illustrative views of the structure of a com- 

 pound racemose gland. The clusters of acini or gland vesicles, with their con- 

 tained secreting cells, could be seen with great distinctness, and the arrange- 

 ment of the interlobular connective tissue could be traced. 



In the subcutaneous tissue around the nipple and at its base, numerous 

 plexiform vessels were seen, so that it is probable that erectile tissue exists 



