6F CETACEOUS FISHES. 
45 
fficient to overfet a (hip ; and the nqife it occnfions, is 
iike the difcharge of cannon, at the diftance of 
*ome m iles. 
Animals of fuch enormous ftrength and magnitude, 
W j e ro, Sbt imagine, would fpread terror and devaftation 
ar ound them, and make an indifcriminate (laughter 
the inferior tribes. No creature, however, is lefs vo- 
ncious than the common whale : Almoft no animal fub- 
j ance is ever found in its fiomach ; it feeds, as fome al- 
Cge ’. u P on different infeeds that float on the furface ; ac- 
coidtng to others, upon the medufa or fea-blubber *. 
, tS f ° od ’ we are certain, muff be extremely minute, ior 
f 6 Ca P acif y ° f its throat does not exceed four inches, a 
•Ifh bej ° nd aU P ro P or tiou ) fmaller than that of other 
The fmall quantity of food that fuffices the whale, may 
jultly furprtfe us, when we confider their fize, and the 
numbers of thefe animals that often herd together. Had 
their voracity been proportioned to their bulk and num 
kers, the ocean itfelf would hardly have afforded a fuffi- 
cient fupply. The infects upon which they feed are 
Wack, and about the fize of a bean : They are of a round 
Za’ like fnails in their (hells, and are feen floating in 
f l fters together upon the waves. Thefe, the whale 
barb UP ^ SrCat . nutnbers ’ and bruifes them with the 
ed + S at P ' PeS WUh Which itS mouth is internally cover- 
all L Wlththis f ° 0d > il becomes the fatteft of 
T lmals > whether terreftrial or aquatic. 
barml f 6nd '' r a PP et ite, the whale adds peaceable and 
eafv a a • lanners ■ *t purfues no other fifli, but leads an 
indolent life on the bofom of the waves, and is 
inoffenfive, 
‘ y ‘ d£ Ua ‘ Syftema Nat - t Goldfmith’s Nat. Hid. 
