Clas IV. COMMON WHALE. 39 
teeth *, and Pliny defcribes the fame under the name 
of Mufculus**. ‘Tho’ the antients were acquainted 
with this animal, yet as far as we recollect, they were 
ignorant of their ufes as well as capture. 
Aldrovand+ indeed defcribes from Oppian, what he 
miftakes for whale fifhing: he was deceived by the 
word xxros, which is ufed not only to exprefs whale in 
general, but any great fith. The poet here meant 
the fhark, and thews the way of taking it in the 
very manner practifed at prefent, by a ftrong hook 
baited with flefh. He defcribes too its three-fold row 
of teeth, a circumftance that at once duiproves its 
being a whale: 
Aaewss Xavrrodovlas avardens nT enovlees, 
Teisoret TEDVIT OAS imacovréencty HUWKGES 
Halieut. v. tin. 526. 
Whofe dreadful teeth in triple order ftand, 
Like fpears'out of his mouth. 
The whale, tho’ fo bulky an animal, fwims with 
vatt fwiftnefs, and generally againft the wind. 
It brings only two young at a time, as we believe 
is the cafe with all other whales. 
Its food is a certain fort of {mall fnail, and as Lin- 
neus fays, the medufa, or fea blubber. 
The great refort of this fpecies is within the aréfic 
circle, but they fometimes vifit our coafts. Whether 
this was the Briti/b whale of the antients we cannot 
pretend to fay, only we find, from a line in Fuvenal, 
that it was of a very large fize, 
* drs OF xb o pusinnras odov]os ev cy TH SoMOTE BX EXEly 
apixas dt opcias veins. Hi, an lib, iii. c. 12. 
FP Lid, Xe 66.3% + De Geis. 261. 
Quanto 
Foods 
