The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-25

coniue ourselves to the sperm whales, the most
familiar Of the tOothed whale group. The sperm
whales are, for the most part, II not altogether,
social. the solitary and stranded individuals
being, as rule, males. These males are probably.
like rogue elephants, fierce bulls which have been
eSpelled from the herd. From a comparison Of
various skeletons Of old animals, il seems that
nty five, and possibly sixty, feet represent the
outside total length of a male sperm whale. The
males Of this species are considerably larger
than the females. The sperm whale feeds mainly
upon cutie fsh, but sometimes fishes also are
eaten. II il said To feed by dropping the huge
lower Jaw, thereby exhibiting its polishedhShit
teeth, which attract within its reach the swimming
food, while the creature moves in the oceans
depths" Apparently, its food Is never composed
OF larger creatures than bonitos and albicorcs.
but the throat Is said 10 be large enough to swallow
a man, and, consequently. the sperm whale has
been Identified with the whale Of Jonah, and also
with the leviathan Of Job. This animal will
remain under water f-om Nifty minutes TO an hour
and a quarter, When 1t spouts, 1t does so for the
space Of nbou, three seconds, and the column
Of yapor eiected can be seen from the masthead
at a distance Of three to five miles.
Tho spouting Of the sperm whale or Cnchalot,
A. the creature has been long termed In Bayonnc,
can be readily distinguished from that Of other
whales because the blowhole is single, and the col
umn Of condensed breath Is, consequently, a single
fountain, and not a double Jet This whale is
intertropical In range, and IL only An accidental
visitor 10 the arctic regions. II INDUCES in a
variety Of antics. Thus It will leap completely
out of the water, coming down with a heavy splash
tina, can be seen from the masthead at a distance
OF ten miles. These vigorous leaps are said to
be INDUCED in for the purpose Of shaking of
certain external parasites The sperm whai.
will also poke IT. head out Of the water To look
or listen, then ssuning a perfectly upright posi-
tion. The great strength II the animal is shown
by Its power TO hun itself completely out Of the
water three or four times running. The belief
II current that the sperm whale is excessively
umld, but II this he iE general character, there
are many exceptions among the larger males
According TO Capt Scammon. It Is a well estab
lished fact that ships have been sunk by the
deliberate assaults Of Vicious gray headed
Cachalots-. Scammon thinks that in som.
cases, vessels which have been mys,eriously
lost at sea have been destroyed by sperm whales
Il may be that the males fight for the females,
and that the black bulk Of a whaling vessel IL
now and then mistaken for one Of their own kind
Il has been suggested that the story OF Perseus
and Andromeda Is based upon a ~ferocious Cacha-
lot and tha, the Orca described by Arius,o. which
was TO devour Angelica chained TO n rock upon
the coas, Of Brittany, wa a reminiscence Of this
creature There is a story related OF the Emperor
Claudius, who. with his Pretorian Guards, en-
gagged in battle against a monster Of thi, species
off the port Of OStia-
Ambergris is a we'll known product OF the sperm
ubala FTh,,urb tina :, . p,a - rot,,ya ~, .n
nection with the quality Of greesiness, amborgris
1, a somewhat greasy substance found floating
10 the sea, or more generally close TO the shore.
II is a secretion Of the intestine Of the sperm whals
or Cachalot, comparable. apparently, to b,yoar
stones. The fact that the substance was found
10 contain the beaks Of cuttleGsh suggested its
origin, which was confirmed by finding 1t In
tn alimentary canal Of a Carhalo; Wh,n taken
from the alimen,hry canal tn substance Is greasy
and Of a disag raeable smell, After Exposure
Il hardens aud acquires its peculiar, sweet earthly
odor From certain chemical facts il has been
inferred that nmbergris is a hillary concrrtion,
closely resembling cholesterine But its APPEAR.
nnc" in tn" sperm whale Is pathological and not
natural. Every individual in which it has
been found was dead, or in a sickly condition
AmbergIiS has heen used as a medicine. and even
a. An aphrodisiac, It IL now used solely In per-
iumery. II Is mainly employed as a vehicle
for various perfumes, and Is worth from 81 rs
TO SO 25 per ounce, A piece Of ambergris has
been found weighing $50 pounds An even larger
piece Is reported 10 have been In the possession
Of the Dutch Fast India Company. 1t weighed
9S2 pounds. Th' origin Of ambnrgris was known
more or less definitely 30 long ago as the midlis
Of tho sixteenth century. That is TO say IL was
known to b. IA" produc, Of a whale, though not
known 70 he confined to the sperm whale Olau.
Magnus describes il AS found floating In tho sea,
and as Of being VI a blue color with a whitish tinge,
that is 10 say. gray. He held 1t 10 be n, sperm
OF the whale, and prescribed il a. a remedy for syn.
cope and epilepsy, There was a curious mingling
Of truth with inaccuracy in Sir Thomas Brownies
view OF this substance. In his Philosopher
Transactions" Is a reference to a sp 'rm whale
cas-, up on tho shore Of Norfolk In vain, /" he
writes. 1T were to rake for amborgrieso in the
pnunch Of this levtathan, AS Greenland discov-
erers and attests Of experience dictate. that thsy
sometimes swallow great Jumps thereof In tbs
sea insuferable fstor denying that inquiry
/, appears that the author Of "Religio Medici"
knew that ambergris was found in the alimpntary
canal Of the sperm whales, but thought that II
was sw allowed BY the creatures. Two views of
the nature Of ambergrs vere given in JOhnson's
Dictionary edition Of 1879. II is there described
a. the eIcrement Of birds washed of rocas. or
as honeycomb' tina, had fallen into the s,a.
NJ
New Light on HsIiitt and Lamb.