in the Anatomy of a Whale. 29 
was complete. Having removed the injection from these bags, 
I observed on the inside of them a soft whitish substance, ap- 
parently containing a plexus of lacteal vessels. This substance 
entered the bags at that part of them which was nearest to 
the intestines, and went out at the part next to the spine. I 
now poured some quicksilver into those lacteals which ap- 
peared to lead to this soft substance : the quicksilver soon en- 
tered the vessels which were contained in it, and thus its nature 
was ascertained. A number of lacteals having entered one of 
these bags, were observed to communicate with each other, 
then again to separate, and form other vessels, which went 
out of the bag. It was some time before the quicksilver passed 
through the plexus of vessels contained in the first bag ; but 
after having pervaded it, it passed on to a second bag, in 
which was concealed a similar plexus of lacteals. The quick- 
silver permeated these last vessels with much greater facility 
than it did the former, and quickly ran out of the large lac- 
teals which were divided at the origin of the mesentery. Be- 
sides those absorbents which passed through the bags in the 
manner described, there were great numbers of others, which 
terminated by open orifices in every part of them. When 
quicksilver was poured into any of the lacteals, which were 
found near the sides of the bags, it immediately ran in a stream 
into their cavities. I introduced about a dozen bristles through 
as many lacteals, into different parts of two of these bags. 
These were doubtless few, in comparison to the whole number 
which terminated in them, but as the mesentery was fat, and 
the vessels were small, more could not easily be passed. 
I afterwards stuffed two of the bags with horse-hair, dried 
them, and preserved them as an anatomical preparation. In 
