The Wliite Whale, 
411 
rose-colour, and its proportions are more agreeable than 
those of most of the cetacea. It measures from twelve 
to eighteen feet in length. .White Whales are gregarious, 
assembling in flocks or herds, and playing about with 
rapid and graceful movements. The female has two 
young ones at a time, over which she watches with the 
greatest apparent affection. They follow all her move- 
ments, and do not quit her till they are nearly full grown. 
This Whale is generally confined to the northern lati- 
tudes, though one was taken in the Firth of Forth in 
1815. The oil is of excellent quality, and the flesh eats 
like beef. According to some writers the flesh, when 
pickled with vinegar and salt, is as well tasted as pork ; 
and thus the body, which is generally thrown away when 
the sailors have cut off the blubber, might be used by 
them as food. The internal membranes are used by the 
Greenlanders for windows, and the sinews for thread, and 
the fins and tail, when properly prepared, are said by 
some of the old writers to be good eating. 
