. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE WHALE. 127 ately for the water. As they proceed their huge bodies tremble like masses of jelly, in consequence of the fat with which they are so heavily laden. So plentiful is this fat, that a single adult male will furnish about seventy gallons of clear and scentless oiL WHALES. The Cetacea, or Whales, are more thoroughly aquatic than any other animals which have already been described, and are consequently framed in such a very fish-like manner that they have generally been considered as fishes by those who are but little acquainted with the anima
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE WHALE. 127 ately for the water. As they proceed their huge bodies tremble like masses of jelly, in consequence of the fat with which they are so heavily laden. So plentiful is this fat, that a single adult male will furnish about seventy gallons of clear and scentless oiL WHALES. The Cetacea, or Whales, are more thoroughly aquatic than any other animals which have already been described, and are consequently framed in such a very fish-like manner that they have generally been considered as fishes by those who are but little acquainted with the animal kingdom. The entire livelihood of the Whale is obtained in the waters, and their entire structure is only fitted for traversing the waves, so that if they should happen to be cast upon the shore they have no means of regaining their native element, and are sure to perish miserably from hunger. When the Whales breathe, they are forced to rise to the surface of the sea, and there make a number of huge respirations, which are technically called " spoutings," because a column of mixed vapour and water is ejected from the nostrils, or " blow-holes," and spouts upwards to a great height, some- times as much as twenty feet. In order to enable the animal to respire without exposing itself unnecessarily, the " blow-holes " are placed on the upper part of the head, so that when a Whale is reposing itself on the surface of the sea, there is very little of its huge carcass visible, except the upper portion of the head and a part of the back. The " spoutings " are made with exceeding violence, and can be heard at some distance. The limbs of the Whales are so modified in their form that they can hardly be recognised by their external appearance alone as the limbs of a veritable mammal. In shape they closely resemble the fins of fish, and it is not until they are stripped of the thick skin which envelopes them that the true limb is developed. They are
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
