WEIGHT OF THE WHALE. 155 
dies: the cavity on the crown of the same, occu¬ 
pied by the muscular valves of the blowholes, was 
14 inches wide and 24 inches long. 
The whale being very nearly of the same spe¬ 
cific gravity as sea-water (some few individuals 
sinking, and others barely floating when dead), 
the weight may be calculated with considerable 
precision. The body of the whale may be divid¬ 
ed into three segments, forming tolerably regular 
geometric solids. First; the head, a parabolic 
conoid, which, in the sucking-whale, is 4 feet in 
diameter, and 5J feet in height; its solid content 
about 34§ cubic feet. Secondly ; the middle seg¬ 
ment, extending from the head to the thickest 
part of the body : this is a frustum of a cone, in 
the sucking-whale, 3 feet in length, and 4 to 5 feet 
in diameter, producing a solid content bf 48 cu¬ 
bic feet. Thirdly; the posterior segment, ex¬ 
tending from the greatest circumference to the 
tail: this segment is a paraboloid, or parabolic 
conoid, with its smaller end truncated. Its length 
in the sucking-whale is 8 feet; its diameters 1 and 
5 feet; and its solid content 81 \ cubic feet. And, 
to these products may be added about 1 0 cubic 
feet, the estimated bulk of the fins and tail, which 
make an amount of 174 cubic feet: this sum, di¬ 
vided by 35, the number of cubic feet of sea-water 
in the Greenland ocean, in a ton weight, gives 
