THE WHALE, 
139 
fish deposit their spawn, and leave their success to accident ; 
these never produce above one young, or two at the most; 
and this the female suckles entirely in the manner of quad- 
rupeds, her breasts being placed, as in the human kind, 
above the navel. Their tails also are different from those 
of all other fish : they are placed so as to lie fiat on the 
surface ol the water ; while the other kinds have them, as 
we every day see, upright or edgeways. This flat position 
of the tail enables them to force themselves suddenly to the 
surface of the water to breathe, which they are continually 
constrained to do. 
1 he Whale. Of the whale, properly so called, there 
are no less than seven different kinds; all distinguished from 
each other by their external figure, or internal conformation. 
he Great Greenland Jf hale, without a back-fin, and black 
on the back ; the Iceland JI hale, without a back-fin, and 
whitish on the back : the New England Whale, with a hump 
0,1 the back : the Jl hale with six humps on the back; the 
lin lish, w ith a fin on the back near the tail ; the Pike- 
headed ff hale, and the Hound-lipped Whale. All these 
differ from each other in figure, as their names obviously 
imply. They differ also somewhat in their manner of living; 
the fin-fish having a larger swallow than the rest; being more 
active, slender, and fierce, and living chiefly upon herrings. 
The Great Greenland Whale is the fish, lor taking which 
there are such preparations made in different parts of Europe, 
ft is a large heavy animal, and the head alone makes a third 
l bulk. It is usually found from sixty to seventy feet 
iOng. r l he fins on each side are from five to eight feet, com- 
posed of bones and muscles, and sufficiently strong to give 
t he great mass of body which they move, speed, and activity. 
I heir tail is about twenty-four feet broad ; and, when the 
hsli lies on one side, its blow is tremendous. The skin is 
smooth and black, and, in some places, marbled with white 
|md yellow ; which, running over the surface, has a very 
beautiful effect. 
The outward or scarf skin of the whale is no thicker than 
Parchment; but this removed, the real skin appears of about 
an inch thick, and covering the fat or blubber that lies be- 
neath: this is from eight to twelve inches in thickness; and 
ls ; when the fish is in health, of a beautiful yellow. The 
muscles lie beneath : and these, like the flesh of quadru- 
are very red and tough. 
file cleft of the mouth is above twenty feet long, which 
is near one third of the animal’s whole length; and the 
'Tper jiiw is furnished with barbs, that lie, like the pipes of 
