The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-12-26
A Talk About Whales.
Thomas j. Bowdith in the Troy Times.


arch of creation, all animals shrinking
into insignifcance when brought into
comparison with his enormous size. The
common whale seldom exceeds seventy
leet in length, and is much more fire.
ouently under sixty. Two specimens of
the rorqual or rszor-back whale have
been observed that measured l25 feet in
length. One of these was found floating
lifeless in Davis Straits and the other in
Columbia River One cast on the shore
at North Berwick, Scotland, and pre-
served by DIR. Knox, was eighty>three
feet in length. Some extravagant stories
have been told in olden times in regard
to the length of whales. Baron Cuvier,
the eminent naturalist says; "Theie Is
doubt that whales have been at certain
epochs and in certain seas upward OF
800 ieet long"
The whale has been an object of com>
mercial pursuit, and it is surprising that
so little /, enerally known of his natural
history. Whales are warm-booded, their
temperature rising very considerably
above that of the surrounding water.
They breathe, as does man, by lungs; the
arynx has the form of cone, and when
the whale is breathing, projects into the
| cavity of the posterior mares, where 1T IL
met and embraced by the muscles OF
the palate, and thus a free passage Is
opened through the nostrils from the
lungs direct to the external 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 whale per-
forms the act of deglutition, but at the
same time closes the pharynx to prevent
the passage of the water beyond the
necessary point. BY these means it IS
isrced up the nasal passages, and by a
sudden contraction of the muscles about
these parts it is finally expelled in a jet
of water which rises to some height, and
is termed blowing" In their internal
anatomy they present features OF perfect
agreement with man and all mammals OF
qu.drupeds They have a four.chama
bered heart, this being the highest type
of heart that we meet with in the animal
series and in respect Of their brain struc-
ture and of other characters, the whales
present close resemblance to the quad
rupeds The head of the whale il dis
moportionately large in comparison with
the size of the body, generally being one.
third, 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 strong attachment existing
between the mother whale and her OF
spring, and the devoted protection ex
tended by the former to the latter, are
matters of common knowledge, tamilla
to- all who have read accounts OF whaling
expeditions. Instances are known wheI
I the mother whale has sacrificed, her H.
;, rather than leave her young. Ih
arrangement Of the baleen or whalebon
D in the right whale is very peculiar. /
> strong, long keel runs along the center q
+ the palate, on each side Of which is
broad depression, along VIII ca The plate
4 of haleen are attached. These are Ion
: and fiat, and the largest measures iron
" ten to twelve feet in length, and ar
0 attached to the palate by their bases
u hanging down into the mouth. From
}. these being placed transversely, thei
!, sides are parallel and at very short dis
lance from each other, the base OF each
as well as the outer edge, being composed
: OF whalebone while the inner edge ter
7 inmates in filament OF tibres which I'll
+ I'D the whole interior OF the mouth acros
% it,
b TIE object of this is entirely owing t
:" the arrangement of the stomach OF tn
Q whale, which is so small in compariso
e with his great bulk that his food cor
, sists only of the small or minute animals
>, allied to the Jelly fishes and the like,
II herring being the largest fish he ca
r swallow. To procure his prey be is thu
!, obliged to inguli whole shoal in h
n capacious mouth at once. The water
81 then strained off and poured through tn
III blow-holes, while the animal can pa
re his dininutive prey into the ae4ophagt
10 as he requires. 1t may be thus seen TIM
!, the whaiebone plates serve as a KIND
III gigantic sieve or strainer. These plat
n generally number about 600. The sper
70, whale posses no whaiebone Plate
10 With an ignorance of science, which no
a' il laughable even to our children, wi
n know that the material for stays al
d hoops is taken from the mouth, the Ia
9, in the time of Charles III. appropriate
vs. the tail OF every whale taken by an En-
ia lish subject to the Use OF the Queen I
Ia the supply Of the royal wardrobe. i
ia covering of the whales body consi'
- typically of hairs, and not OF scat
10 although this body-covering is b
se> scarcely or not at all developed.
,rs Historians in general have given t
h, Basques or Biscayand the credit
ass having first practiced the whale fisher
ns but in the ninth century Alfred t
nv Great, to whom England is indebted
tly the foundation OF her naval establi'
mt ments, listened to the tales of Octh
wn Norwegian, who related the adv
,be lures of a VI yage along the coast OF n
,on way $50 far north as commonly
Inc whale hunters do travel" and told II
he "was one of six tina. killed 81,
whales in two days, OF which some W
forty eight, some fifty yards Ion
This incident is believed to be
earliest historical notice of the subju
IN, ton OF this monarch of the sea to
ain uses of man. The whales OF Octo
a a we're whoppers, and their size is bey'
his comparison with any found in pres
md times. 1t was not until the seyentee
Q a century tina, the whale fishery enga
the Maritime Nations of Europe az
.cc, important branch of commerce. i
her erst person that is recorded to have XII
awhale among the people OF this coun
# a is one William Hamilton, ~
sachusetts, somewhere between 1861
del 1870. w. Scoresby, F. r. g., IN leet
ome at the London Institution, stated
whales are known to descend peri
diculsrly from 4 200 to 1880 feet;
for at the latter depth he calculated, II
on -, + accurate data, that large whale We
h;n have to sustain the pressure OF 2lZ,
Jim tons, distributed over the entire surf
OF alb ut 1877 IL tors on every SGT
foot of it's body.