Marvels of the Universe 



325 



I'lioln *//] 



[//. C. ShepHoiw 



WHALE SPOUTING. 



inches apart. This jaw hangs down at an angle 

 of about forty-five degrees when the animal is 

 in its normal position, revealing the cavernous 

 throat and comparatively insignificant tongue. 

 The interior of the mouth is li\'id \\'hite, \\hich 

 gleams palely against the blue of the sea and 

 effectualh" dispels by one glimpse of it any idea 

 of the whale not being able to swallow anything 

 much larger than a herring. But then, this idea 

 arises from the popular ignorance of the great 

 number of different kinds of whales which exist 

 in the sea. and the concentration of all the 

 scanty knowledge of the subject upon their 

 Arctic representative, the great Bowhead. 



Now, in very truth, there could hardh' be a 

 greater number of fundamental differences be- 

 tween two members of one family than there are 

 between the Sperm \\'hale and the Bowhead or 

 Arctic Right Whale. In the first place, despite 

 his thick covering of fat, the Sperm Whale is 

 found all over the oceans where the temperature 

 does not fall much below fifty degrees, even in 

 the almost hot waters of the Persian Gulf ; but 

 never bv any chance in those frigid waters so 

 necessarj- to the well-being of the Right ^^'hale — 

 they appear to act as an impassable wall. 



As might be expected from the appearance of its teeth, it has no screen or sieve of baleen, or whale- 

 bone, in its mouth, this alone hinting that its food is of a more important character. Yet its 

 teeth are confined to the lower jaw ; the upper jaw has a corresponding double row of sockets into 

 which the teeth fit. This, of course, points to the fact that great as may be the prey upon which 

 the Sperm Whale feeds, it nuist be of a soft and easily divided nature ; also, that mastication is out 

 of the question. 



But perhaps the most wonderful and mysterious characteristic of the Sperm Whale is the great 

 reser\'oir of liquid spermaceti which he carries in his head — the " case " of the whalemen. I have 

 myself assisted to bale out a case which 3'ielded between two and three tuns of the bland, snow- 

 white grease — at least, it became snow-white grease upon exposure to the air ; within the case it 

 was colourless as pure water. This case fills the whole top of the vast head, and through it runs 

 the single breathing-tube which feeds the lungs with fresh air from the spiracle at the extreme 

 forward top end of the head. This creamy substance, or " head matter " as the whalers call it, 

 has absolutely no connection with the small brain. No e.xact knowledge of the use of this tank of 

 spermaceti exists ; but it is generally supposed to act as a buoy to bring the massy body more 

 swiftly to the surface for air, by reason of its specific lightness in comparison with the water in 

 which it floats. 



There is another curious point of difference between the Sperm and all other whales, which is 

 the disparity of size between the sexes. In all other whales there is a general equality, or where 

 there is a difference it is in favour of the female. But among the Cachalots the male grows to twice 

 the size of the female on the average, and in particular cases to fully three times as large. They are 

 polygamous, a single pair never being seen ; but one huge bull will convoy a harem of cows and 

 young bulls, which latter fight furiously among themselves at intervals, until one of them, victor 



The so-called " spouting " of the Whales is a column of 

 vapour from the blow-hole or nostril, due to the hot expired 

 breath condensing in the cooler air. 



