The Common, or Greenland Whale. 405 
The blubber of a Whale is frequently found to be 
eighteen or twenty inches thick ; which yields fifty or 
sixty puncheons of oil, each puncheon containing seventy- 
four gallons ; and the upper jaw yields about six hundred 
pieces of whalebone, most of which are about twelve feet 
long, and six or eight inches broad ; the whole produce 
of a Whale being worth one thousand pounds, more or 
less, according to the size of the animal. Whilst the men 
are at work on the back of the Whale they have spurs 
on their boots, with two prongs, which come down on 
each side of their feet, lest they should slip, the back of 
the Whale being very slippery. 
When the Whale feeds, it swims with considerable 
velocity below the surface of the sea, with its jaws widely 
extended. A stream of water consequently enters its 
mouth, carrying along with it immense quantities of 
cuttle-fish, sea-blubber, shrimps, and other small marine 
animals. The water escapes at the sides ; but the food is 
entangled, and, as it were, sifted by the fringe of whale- 
bone within the mouth ; this kind of strainer is rendered 
necessary by the very small gullet, which in a Whale 
of sixty feet long, does not exceed four inches in width, 
The sailors say that a penny-loaf would choke a Whale. 
The Whale bellows fearfully when wounded or in dis- 
tress. Its young is called a cub. 
There is also an extensive Whale fishery in the 
Southern Ocean, carried on chiefly by the Americans. 
The Whale found in those seas is distinct from the 
Greenland Whale, and is described by naturalists under 
the name of Balcena Australis. 
