412 THE GREENLAND WHALE FISHERY. 
spectacle. Other motions, equally expressive of his boundless 
strength, attract the attention of the navigator at the distance 
of miles. 
The fins, called by the French nagtolres, and by Dr. Fle- 
ming *' swimming paAvs," are placed immediately behind the 
eyes. They are nine feet long, inclosed by very elastic 
membranes, and provided with bones similar in form and 
number to those of the human hand. Such is the spring and 
vitality of the parts, that, if we may believe Dr. Reste, they 
continue to move for some time after being separated from 
the body. According to Mr. Scoresby, however, while the 
whale swims, these organs lie flat on the surface of the wa- 
ter, and are not at all instrumental in producing his motion, 
which arises entirely from the tail. The fins merely direct 
and steady the movement, and thus serve rather as a helm 
than as oars. 
The period of gestation in the whale is nine or ten months, 
and the female brings forth in February or March. She is 
viviparous ; that is, the young come forth alive, not inclosed 
in an egg ; and there is usually only one at a time. These 
delicate nurslings, only about fourteen feet long, and weigh- 
ing little more than a ton, are watched over by the mother 
with the most tender care. The whalers strike these suckers, 
as they are called, not on account of their own value, but un- 
der the assurance that the mother will start forth in their de- 
fence. Then ensues a contest hard and perilous, but commonly 
attended with a prosperous issue, for she never seeks safety 
in flight. She rushes upon the boat, drags the line with ex- 
traordinary force, tosses to and fro with extreme agony, and 
suffers herself to be struck by repeated harpoons without at- 
tempting tO' escape; while the good-natured captain has his 
triumphant feelings damped by the consideration that his prize 
has fallen the victim to such an ardor of maternal tenderness. 
According to indications afforded by notches in the whale- 
bone, which seem not, however, very fully established, the 
whale does not attain his full growth under twenty-five years, 
and is said to reach a very great age. 
THE GREENLAND WHALE FISHERY. 1830. 
From a file of English papers, published at Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne, 1830, it appears that the Greenland Whale Fishery is 
