Cetacea. MAMMALIA. Cetace.\.. cxxiii 
Order XII.— CETACEA. 
'I’his order embraces a very interesting and won- 
drous group of animals — the Whales, from tlie 
Anglo-Saxon Imal. That they are confined to the 
waters, and are formed like the finny denizens of the 
deep, they are cpiite naturally regarded as fishes by 
the casual observer. Little anatomical knowledge is 
recpiired to understand their true position ; indeed, 
one physiological fact, which is most easily deter- 
mined by any one who witnesses the living Cetacean, 
settles the matter without qualification : they breathe 
the external air through lungs, and not by aid of 
gills whose membraneous expansions, filled with 
blood, are exposed to the water, from whence comes 
the life-giving oxygen. Again, the Whales suckle 
their young, and, consequently, are of the great 
Clans Mammalia, which is founded upon that func- 
tion. Whales are grouped according to certain 
characters seen in their development. The most 
prominent are the Whalebone Whales, the Balce- 
nidm. so called on account of the mouth having jaws 
armed with plates of whalebone, the uses of which 
will be seen further on. 'I’he Cachalots, or Sperm 
Whales, form one group, and the Dolphins another, 
WHiales' descend into the great depths of ocean 
so considerably that we naturally look for some econ- 
omy of their structure which shall resist the enor- 
mous pressure that they sustain. We know that 
this is so great as to force water through the pores 
of the hardest woods, and, consequently, to render it 
heavy like lead. The integuments, though soft and 
velvet-like, are yet so organized as to resist effect- 
ually this pressure. The outside skin is lubricated 
with an oily substance which prevents maceration of 
the tissues; then beneath this is the rete mucosiim, a 
membrane which holds the coloring matter of the 
skin the same as that of the Negro ; thirdly, the 
true skin, and the blubber of fat immediately under 
it. Prof. Jacob, of Dublin, regards the blubber and 
true skin as one integument, the skin being modified 
to hold the oily matter in cells. 'I'he uses of this 
blubber will readily occur when we reflect that these 
creatures inhabit the coldest regions, the deep seas of 
pei'petual ice. 'I’he fat suffices to render them warmth, 
lying, as it does, like a blanket spread over the body. 
An amount of this blubber on some Whales is esti- 
mated at thirty tons weight. 'I’liis fat is specifically 
lighter than the waters, and thus renders the creature 
buoyant and active. 'The flesh of Whales is much 
like that of the larger land animals ; the bones, too, 
are solid, and, though less compact, are like those of 
other mammals. 'I'he mammae are situated on the 
breast in the group called herbivorous Whales, and 
are situated on the abdomen in the others. 'I'heir 
milk is said to be very rich, having the taste of Cow’s 
milk to which cream is added. 
'I’here is nothing very peculiar in the internal 
organization of Whales, as compared with other 
mammals. 'I’he physiological fact that they remain a 
great length of time beneath the water without 
breathing is remarkable. Man, in a healthy state, 
must breathe every three seconds. Instances are 
known, however, of persons remaining three minutes 
immersed, all respiration being suspended. 'I’his is 
accomplished by a girl who is on exliibition through- 
out the country. 'I’he economy of the circulating 
system in the Cetaceans is seen to differ from that of 
land animals, inasmuch as we find a development of 
the arterial canals which serves as a reservoir for 
arterial blood— that rich, red blood which is required 
as the life-giving pabulum. A large portion of the 
interior of the chest is lined with this plexus of 
blood-vessels, and the various interstices between 
the ribs, and a large cushion is formed by it exterior 
to the ribs and along the spine ; it is even distrib- 
uted within the spinal column, and even on the in- 
terior of the cranium. 'I’he amount of blood in a 
Whale is, comparatively, very large, a circumstance 
which this reservoir at once explains. It is under- 
stood that the blood is at a higher temperature than 
in terrestrial animals, ranging as high as 104“. 'I'he 
nostrils, through which they take all the air required, 
are situated on the top of the snout, or in some 
appearing to be directly on the summit of the head. 
'I’he nostrils, or “ blow-holes,” communicate, as in all 
other mammals, directly with the passages to the 
lungs ; a peculiar mechanism of the throat, which is 
supplied with valves, prevents the water that may be 
taken into the mouth from passing into them. Re- 
garding the voice of Whales, there seems to be little 
to communicate. .Mr. Scoresby, an experienced 
scientific Arctic observer, says : “ Whales have no 
voice”; and it is generally understood that all others 
are similarly deficient. Older authors, and some 
observers of the present day, affirm that they have 
heard them bellow and utter loud cries. Cuvier did 
not doubt these statements, but acquiesced in them. 
One species, the Melas, has obtained its trivial 
name from the alleged circumstance that it “calls ”; 
hence the “ Ca’ing Whale.” It is most reasonable 
to admit these as facts, as the other Mai-ine Mam- 
mals have voices of the most potent character. 
''I’he brain of the Whales is small comparatively. 
One of a specimen nineteen feet long, and weighing 
11,200 pounds, weighed only three pounds twelve 
ounces ; that is, “ one- three-thousandth part of the 
whole animal.” In man it is calculated to be “ one- 
thirty-fifth part.” 'I’he Porpoises and Dolphins seem 
to have a much larger brain. Cuvier records, “from 
five examinations, on an average, the brain weighed 
one-sixty-third part of the whole.” 
'I’he senses of Whales are considerably beyond 
our comprehension. With regard to smell, the early 
