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which constitutes nearly a third of the whole bulk, is from 15 to 30 feet long, and is flattish above. The mouth is exceedingly large, stretching almost as far back as the eyes. The tongue is very soft, being composed almost entirely of 'fat; and it adheres, by its under surface, to the lower jaw the gullet scarcely exceeds four inches in width. The eyes, which are not larger than those of an ox, are placed at a great distance from each other, on the sides of the head, in the most convenient situation possible for the animal's seeing round about him. The skin is about an inch thick, and the outer or scarf skin about the thickness of parchment, and very smooth. Under the skin lies the blubber, which is from 8 to 12 inches thick: this, when the animal is in health, is of a beautiful yellow colour. 'The tail is about 24 feet broad, of a half-moon shape, and it lies flat on the water. Whales have no teeth either in their upper or under jaw, but in place of these, the upper jaw is furnished with a horny substance called whalebone. On the top of the head, there is a round opening or breathing hole, with a double orifice, through which they spout the sea

water.

The muscular powers of these animals are so great, that a blow of their immense tail is at any time sufficient to upset a tolerably large boat; and, when struck upon the surface of the ocean, to make the water fly with tremendous noise, in

all directions. They are able to throw out water from the breathing holes in their head, to the height of nearly forty feet, with such a noise, that it roars like a hollow wind, and may be heard 'at three miles distance: when wounded, the Whale blows more fiercely than ever, so that it sounds like the roaring of the sea in a great

storm.

Whales resemble quadrupeds in many particulars; like them, they have lungs, a midriff, a stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, &c.; their heart also resembles that of quadrupeds, driving red and warm blood in circulation through the body. The blubber or fat oil, lying under the skin, keeps the body warm, renders the muscles pliant, and makes the animal lighter in swimming.

These animals all breathe the air, and are forced, every two or three minutes, to come up to the surface of the water to take breath, as well as to spout out through the breathing-holes, or nostrils, the water which they sucked in while gaping for their prey. The eyes of all the Whale kind are covered by eye-lids, as in man, thus preserving and resting that organ.

The female is supposed to carry her young nine or ten months, and generally produces one or at most two at a birth, which she suckles entirely in the manner of quadrupeds, her breasts being placed as in the human kind, on the upper part of the body.

The female is extremely careful of her offspring,

carrying it with her wherever she goes; and, when hardest pursued, supporting it between her fins. Even when wounded, she is said still to clasp it; and if she plunges to avoid danger, she takes it with her to the bottom: but in this case, she always rises sooner than she otherwise would, for the purpose only of giving it breath. The young ones continue with their dams nearly three monhts; during this time they are called short heads. They are then extremely fat, and will yield each above fifty barrels of blubber. At two years old, they have the name of stunts, from not thriving much after quitting the breast: at this age they will scarcely yield more than twenty barrels of blubber. From the age of two years they are denominated skull-fish.

This animal employs the tail alone to advance itself in the water; and the force and swiftness with which so enormous a body cuts its way through the ocean, are truly astonishing. A track is frequently made in the water like what would be left by a large ship; this is called his wake, and by this the animal is often followed. The fins are only applied in turning and giving a direction to the velocity impressed by the tail. The female indeed sometimes uses them, when pursued, to bear off her young ones, for she pla ces these on her back, supporting them from falling, by the fins on each side.

These Whales are shy and timid animals, fur nished with no weapons of offence or defence,

except the tail. As soon as they perceive the approach of a boat, they generally plunge under water, and sink into the deep; but when they find themselves in danger, they exhibit their great and surprizing strength. In this case, they break to pieces whatever comes in their way; and if they run foul of a boat, they dash it to atoms."

Their principal food consists of some kind of crabs, and medusæ, or sea blubber. From their naturally inoffensive disposition, they have many enemies. Among these is a kind of barnacle, which adheres to their body, chiefly under their fins, in the same manner as others of the same tribe are seen sticking to the foul bottoms of ships. But the enemy they have most to dread is the sword-fish. Whenever this appears, the Whale immediately exerts all his powers to escape its attack, which is always unavoidable if they meet. The Sword Fish is sufficiently active to evade the blows that he makes with his tail, one of which, if it took place, must effectually destroy it. The sea, for a considerable space around, may be seen died with the blood that issues in copious streams from the wounds made in the whale's body, by the dreadful beak of his adversary. The noise made at each blow of the tail is said to be louder than that of a cannon. The fishermen in calm weather frequently lie on their oars, as spectators of the combat, till they perceive the Whale at his last gasp; then they row towards him, and, the enemy retiring at their approach, they enjoy the fruits of his victory.

The fidelity of the male and female to each other, exceeds that of other animals. Some fishermen, as Anderson, in his history of Greenland, informs us, having struck one of two Whales, a male and female, that were in company to gether, the wounded animal made a long and terrible resistance. It upset a boat, containing" three men, with a single blow of its tail, by. which all went to the bottom, the other still attended its companion and lent it every assistance, till, at last, the one that was struck, sunk under the number of his wounds, while its faithful associate, disdaining to survive theloss, with great bellowing, stretched itself upon the dead animal, and shared its fate.

To the Greenlanders, as well as to the natives. of more southern climates, the Whale is an animal of essential importance; and these people spend much time in fishing for it. When they set out on their Whale-catching expeditions, they dress themselves in their best apparel, fancying that if they were not cleanly and neatly clad, the Whale, who detests a slovenly and dirty garb, would immediately avoid them. In this manner, about fifty persons, men and women, set out together in one of their large boats. The women carry along with them their needles, and other implements to mend their husband's clothes, in case they should be torn, and to repair the boat, if it should happen to receive any damage; for their boats are covered with seal skins, sewed