The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-12-05
ATALKABOUT WHALES.

Interesting Inform alton Concerning Them,
and Some PoI.nlar De usioDs Exploded.
trhomast. Bowditch in the Troy Times.l
The whale is the monarch of the
deer, and in regard to dimensions, the
monarch of creation, all animals sink
ing into insignilicence when brought
into comparison with his enormous size.
The common whale seldom exceeds 20
feet in length, and is much more fire.
quently under so. Two specimens of
the rorqusi or lazor-back whale have
been observed that measured l2a feet in
length. One of these was found floating
Iheiess in Davis Straits, and the other
IN Columbia River. One cast on tho
shore at North Berwick. Scotland, and
preserved by DIR. Knox, was SO feet
in length. Some eNtravagant stories
have been told in olden times in regard
TO the length of whales. Baron Cuvier,
the eminent naturalist, says: "There is
no doubl that whales have been at GER
tain epochs and in certain seas upwards
of $50 feet long"
The whale has long been an object of
commercial pursuit, and it is surprising
that so little is generally known of his
natural history. Whaios are warm
blooded, their temperature rising very
considerably above that of the surround.
ing water. They breathe. as does man,
by lungs; the larynX has the form of a
cone, and when the whale is breathing,
projects into the cavity of the posterior
mares, where it is met and embraced by
the muscles of the palate, and thus q
free passage is opened through the nos
triis from the lungs direct TO the exter-
MI air, although at the same time the
whole head and mouth may be under
water.
In order to get rid of the water which
is taken into the mouth the whsle per
forms the act of deglutition, but at the
same time closes the pharynx TO pre-
vent the passage of the water beyond
the necessary point. BY these means
II is forced up the nasal passages, and
by sudden contraction of the muscles
about these parts is finally expelled In
jet of water which rises TO some
height, and is termed allowing. (" In
their internal anatomy they present
features OF perfect agreement with man
and all mammals of quadrupeds. They
bave ur-chambered heart, this be.
ing the highest type of heart that we
meet with in the animal series; and in
respect of their brain structure and of
other characters, the whales present a
close resemblance to the quadrupeds.
The head of the whale is disproportion-
ately large in comparison with the size
of the body, generally being one-tbird,
and sometimes one half the size of the
latter. The female produces her young
alive, after CESSATION of nine months,
and they are nourished with milk. The
strorg attachment existing between the
mother whale and her offspring, and the
devoted protection extended by the
former TO the latter, are matters of COM
mon knowledge, familiar to all who
have read accounts of whaling eXpedi-
tioHs. Instances are known where the
mother whale has sacrificed her life
rather than leave her young. The ar
rangement of the baleen or. Whalebone
in the right whale is very peculiar. A
strong, long keel runs along the center
of the palate, on each side of which is
very broad depression, along which
the plates of baleen are attached. These
are long and fiat, and the largest meas
ure from ten TO twelve feet in length
and are attached to the palate by their
bases, hanging down into the mouth
From these being placed transversely,
their sides are parallel and at very
small distance from each other, the
base of each, as well as the outer edge,
being composed of solid whalebone,
while the inner edge terminates in a
tilament of fibers which fill up the whole
interior of the mouth across it.
The object of this is entirely owing to
the arrangement of the stomach of the
whale, which is so small in comparison
with his great bulk that his food con-
sists only of the small or minute ami
mails, allied to Jelly fishes aud the like,
a herring being the largest fish he can
swallow. To procure his prey he is
thus obliged to engulf a whole shoal in
his capacious mouth at once. The water
is then strained off and poured through
the blow-holes, while the animal can
pass his diminutive prey into the
esophagus as ne requires. 1t may be
thus seen that the whalebone plates
serve as a kind of gigantic sieve or
strainer. These plates generally num-
Der about 600. The sperm whales pos
sess no whalebone plates. With an ig-
norance OF science which now is laugh
able even TO our children, who know
that the material for stays and hoops Is
taken from the mouth, the law in the
time of Charles III. appropriated the tail
of every whale taken by an English
subject TO the use Of the Queen for the
supply of the royal wardrobe. The
covering of the whales body consists
typically of hairs, and not of scales, al
though this body-covering is but sparse
lev or not at sll developed.
Historians in general have given the
Basques or Biscayans the or dIt of hav
ing first practiced the whale fishery; but
in the ninth century Alfred The Great,
10 whom England is indebted for The
foundation of her naval establishments,
listened TO the tales Of 0cther, Norwe-