and eye-lashes, as in quadrupeds; and they seem to be very sharp sighted.

Nor is their sense of hearing in less perfection; for they are warned, at great distances, of any danger preparing against them. We have already observed, that the substance, called whalebone, is taken from the upper jaw of the animal, and is very different from the real bones of the Whale. The real bones are hard, like those of great land animals, are very porous, and filled with marTow. Two great strong bones sustain the under lip, lying against each other in the shape of a half-moon; some of these are twenty feet long: they are often seen in gardens set up against each other, and are usually mistaken for the ribs.

The fidelity of these animals to each other exceeds whatever we are told of even the constancy of birds. Some fishers, as Anderson informs us, having struck one of two whales, a male and a female, that where in compa ay together, the wounded fish made a long and terrible resistance: it struck down a boat with three men in it, with a single blow of the tail, by which all went to the bottom. The other still attended its companion, and lent it every assistance; till, at last, the fish that was struck sunk under the number of its wounds; while its faithful associate, disdaining to survive the loss, with great bellowing, stretched itself upon the dead fish, and shared his fate.

The Whale goes with young nine or ten months, and is then fatter than usual, particularly when near the time of bringing forth. The young ones continue at the breast for a year; during which time they are called by the sailors short-heads. They are then extremely fat, and yield above fifty barrels of blubber. The mother, at the same time, is equally lean and emaciated. At the age of two years they are called stunts, as they do not thrive much imme

diately after quitting the breast: they then yield scarce above twenty or twenty-four barrels of blubber: from that time forward they are called skull-fish, and their age is wholly unknown. The food of the Whale is a small insect which is seen floating in those seas, and which Linnæus terms the Medusa. These insects are black, and of the size of a small bean, and are sometimes seen floating in clusters on the surface of the water. They are of a round form, like snails in a box, but they have wings, which are so tender that it is scarce possible to touch them without breaking. These, however, serve rather for swimming than flying. They have the taste of raw muscles, and have the smell of burnt sugar. Inoffensive as the Whale is, it is not without enemies. There is a small animal, of the shell-fish kind, called the Whale-louse, that sticks to its body, as we see shells sticking to the foul bottom of a ship. This insinuates itself chiefly under the fins; and whatever efforts the great animal makes, it still keeps its hold, and lives upon the fat, which it is provided with instruments to arrive at.

The sword-fish, however, is the Whale's most terrible enemy. "At the sight of this little animal," says Anderson, "the Whale seems agitated in an extraordinary manner, leaping from the water as if, with affright: wherever it appears, the Whale perceives it at a distance, and flies from it in the opposite direction. I have been myself," continues he, 66 a spectator of their terrible encounter. The Whale has no instrument of defence except the tail;. with that it endeavours to strike the enemy; and a single blow taking place would effectually destroy its adversary: but the sword-fish is as active as the other is strong, and easily avoids the stroke; then bounding into the air, it falls upon its enemy, and endeavours not to pierce with its pointed beak, but to cut with its toothed edges. The sea all about

is soon dyed with blood, proceeding from the wounds of the Whale; while the enormous animal vainly endeavours to reach its invader, and strikes with its tail against the surface of the water, making a report at each blow louder than the noise of a cannon."

There is still another and more powerful enemy, called, by the fishermen of New England, the killer. This is itself supposed to be a cetaceous animal, armed with strong and powerful teeth. A number of these are said to surround the Whale, in the same manner as dogs get round a bull. Some attack it with their teeth behind; others attempt it before; until, at last, the great animal is torn down, and its tongue is said to be the only part they devour when they have made it their prey. They are said to be of such great strength, that one of them alone was known to stop a dead Whale that several boats were towing along, and drag it from among them to the bottom.

But of all the enemies of these enormous fishes, man is the greatest: he alone destroys more in a year than the rest in an age, and actually has thinned their numbers in that part of the world where they are chiefly sought. At the first discovery of Greenland, Whales not being used to be disturbed, frequently came into the very bays, and were accordingly killed almost close to the shore; so that the blubber being cut off was immediately boiled into oil on the spot. The ships in those times took in nothing but the pure oil and the whalebone, and all the business was executed in the country; by which means a ship could bring home the product of many more Whales than she can according to the present method of conducting this trade. The fishery also was then so plentiful, that they were obliged sometimes to send other ships to fetch off the oil they had made, the quantity being more than the fishing ships could bring away. But time and change of

circumstances have shifted the situation of this trade. The ships coming in such numbers from Holland, Denmark Hamburg, and other northern countries, all intruders upon the English, who were the first discoverers of Greenland, the Whales were disturbed, and gradually, as other fish often do, forsaking the place, were not to be killed so near the shore as before; but are now found, and have been so ever since, in the openings and space among the ice, where they have deep water, and where they go sometimes a great many leagues from the shore.

The Whale fishery begins in May, and continues all June and July; but whether the ships have good or bad success, they must come away, and get clear of the ice, by the end of August; so that in the month of September at farthest they may be expected home: but a ship that meets with a fortunate and early fishery in May, may return in June or July.

The manner of taking Whales at present is as follows: -Every ship is provided with six boats, to each of which belongs six men for rowing the boat, and a harpooner, whose business it is to strike the Whale with his harpoon. Two of these boats are kept constantly on the watch at some distance from the ship, fastened to pieces of ice, and are relieved by others every four hours. As soon as a Whale is perceived, both the boats set out in pursuit of it, and if either of them can come up before the Whale finally descends, which is known by his throwing up his tail, the harpooner discharges his harpoon at him. There is no difficulty in choosing the place where the Whale is to be struck, as some have asserted; for these creatures only come up to the surface in order to spout up the water, or blow, as the fishermen term it, and therefore always keep the soft and vulnerable part of their bodies above water. As soon as the Whale is struck, the men set up one of

their oars in the middle of the boat as a signal to those in the ship. On perceiving this, the watchman alarms all the rest with the cry of fall! fall! upon which all the other boats are immediately sent out to the assistance of the first.

The Whale finding himself wounded, runs off with prodigious violence. Sometimes he descends perpendicularly; at others goes off horizontally, at a small depth below the surface. The rope which is fastened to the harpoon is about two hundred fathoms long, and properly coiled up, that it may freely be given out as there is a demand for it. At first, the velocity with which this line runs over the side of the boat is so great, that, it is wetted to prevent its taking fire: but in a short time the strength of the Whale begins to fail, and the fishermen, instead of letting out more rope, strive as much as possible to pull back what is given out already, though they always find themselves necessitated to yield at last to the efforts of the animal, to