ExiracU. — JWdi/ral History. 
521 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
The Whale Thibe. —It is in the Order Cetacea^ that we find the largest ani- 
inals; and the Whale g'enus forms the most stupendous in the wliole rang’e of 
animated nature. They generally congregate in numbers. The male never 
abandons the female, which suckles her young until the birth of its successor. 
S?netL —The great developement of the nasal bones, and the power of the organ 
of smelling, enable these animals to scent odorous bodies at a great distance. 
Non-existence of Teeth, —Their being devoid of teeth forms a distinctive charac¬ 
teristic of the Whales from the other Cetacea : instead of teeth they have a series 
of laminsB, or layers, of a substance resembling horn, denominated baleen^ (erro¬ 
neously called whalebone,) which is supposed to serve to retain their food. 
Vision. —The eyes are well adapted for the element which Whales inhabit; not¬ 
withstanding the immense size of the animal, the whole diameter of each ocular 
globe does not exceed three inches, in fact, about the size of an orange; and 
according to Baron Cuvier, the crystalline lens is not larger than a pea when it is 
dried. The situation of the eyes renders them capable of seeing objects either 
before, behind, or above the head. They are guarded by eye-lids and eye-lashes. 
Hearing. —The organ of hearing is nearly as acute as those of vision: they have 
no external ear, and the opening leading to the internal, is almost imperceptible. 
When the delicate external scarf-skin is removed, a black spot is discovered 
behind the eye, beneath which is the canal leading to the organ of hearing. 
Toncli. —No portion of the Whale has as yet been discovered by Zootomists, to 
which this organ can be referred ; yet it is generally supposed to have great sen¬ 
sibility of feeling. The brain, like the eye, is very small in proportion to its 
bulk. In an animal 19 feet long, and 11,200 lb weight, butSflb of brain was 
found, being but part of the entire body, whilst that of an adult man is 
equal to part of his body. The month is generally of a serpentine form. 
The lips are about'20 or 25 feet long. Duhamel-Dumonceau relates, that one, cap¬ 
tured in the bay of Sonsure, in 1726, had a moJith so w'ide, that when open 2 men 
might w'alk in without stooping. Balceiiy or fVhalehoneSy are suspended from 
the bone named by the seamen the crown-bone, which forms the upper part of the 
mouth. Each of these laminre is composed of a species of stiff hair, or bristle, 
united longitudinally, and placed side by side, and united at the origin by a 
species of rabbet, with a tasteless gum-like substance. The lamina' vary in num¬ 
ber from 300 to 400 on each side, and are of a bluish black colour. The 7 nil/cy 
according to Dr. Jenner, who tasted it, is rich, well flavoured, and nutritious, 
containing more cream than that of quadrupeds. Velocity. —Whales descend 
with immense velocity, freqiiently to the depth of 300 or 400 fathoms in the space 
of 5 or 6 minutes, and are capable of ascending at a similar rate. The colo'ti.r 
of them, whilst sucklings, is pale blue, or bluish grey, afterwards of a bluish-black, 
and when old, of a blackish-grey, mixed with white. Blood. —A much greater 
quantity circulates in the Whale, than in quadrupeds, the diameter of the aorta, 
or large artery, arising from the heart, being more than 13 inches ; and the late 
Mr. J. Hunter estimated the quantity thrown into it, at every contraction, to vary 
fronr lO to 15 gallons, and that with immense velocity. PerfdralFins.—-T\\c 
Answer swimming paws, us they are called,) are placed on each side the chesty and 
contain bones similar to the anterior extremity of digitated animals, strongly en¬ 
veloped in strong condensed adipose membranes, of a sen.d-carlilaginous substance. 
Jjongevity. —It is presumed that individuals of the larger species may have lived 
more than 1000 years ! 
VoL.I, No. 11. 3 t 
