400 Mr. Hunter’s Obfervatims on the 
makes it in fome degree impoftible, if the young teeth follow 
the fame rule in growing with the original ones, as they 
probably do in moft animals. 
If it is true, that the Whale tribe do not (hed their teeth, foi 
what way are they fupplied with new ones, correfponding in 
lize with the increafed ifze of the jaw ? It would appear, that 
the jaw, as it increafes pofteriorly, decays at the fymphyfis, and 
while the growth is going on, there is aconftant fucceflion of 
new teeth, by which means the new-formed teeth are propor- 
tioned to the jaw. The fame mode of growth is evident in the 
Elephant, and in fome degree in many fi fh ; but in thefe laft the 
abforption of the jaw is from the whole o>f the outfide along 
where the teeth are placed. The depth of the alveoli feems to 
prove this, being fhallow at the back part of the jaw, and 
becoming deeper towards the middle, where they are the 
deepeft, the teeth there having come to the full lize. From 
this forwards they are again becoming lhallower, the teeth 
being fmaller, the fockets wafting, and at the fymphyfis there 
are hardly any fockets at all. This will make the exadt num- 
ber of teeth in any fpecies uncertain. 
Some genera of this tribe have another mode of catching their 
food, and retaining it till fwallowed, which is by means of the 
fubftance called Whalebone. Of this there are two kinds 
known; one very large, probably from the largeft Whale yet 
difeovered ; the other from a fmaller fpecies. 
This whalebone, which is placed on the inftde of the 
xhouth, and attached to the upper jaw, is one of the molt 
lingular circumftaiices belonging to this fpecies, as they have 
moft other parts in common with quadrupeds. ‘It is a fubftance, 
I belldVe, peculiar to the Whale, and 6f - the fame nature as 
horn, which I fell *ufe as ‘a term to exprefs what confti- 
tutes 
