white, to which the tongue is fastened, inclosed in the barders, or long whalebones; it is very large, sometimes about eighteen feet, and sometimes more, of a white colour, with black spots, of a soft, fat, and spungy matter. The whale has a bunch on the top of his head, in which are two spouts or pipes, parallel one to the other, and somewhat bent, like the holes upon a fiddle. Through these he receives the air, and spouts out the water, which he takes in at his mouth, and is forced upwards through these holes in very large quantities, and with such violence and noise, that it is heard at a great distance, by which, in hazy weather, he is known to be near, especially when he finds himself wounded, for then he rages most furiously, and the noise of his spouting is so loud, that some have resembled it to the roaring of the sea in a storm, or the firing of great guns. His eyes are placed between the bunch and the side fins; they are not larger than those of an ox, and are armed with eyebrows.

These sea animals, or rather monsters, are of different sizes and bulks; some yield one hundred and some two or three hundred tuns of fat or blubber. The fat lies between the skin and the flesh, six or eight inches thick, especially upon the back and under the belly. The thickest and strongest sinews are in the tail, which serves him for a rudder, as his fins do for oars, wherewith he swims with an astonishing swiftness, proportioned to his bulk, leaving a track in the sea, like a great VOL. LX.

ship; and this is called his wake, by which he is often followed.

These sea monsters are as shy and timorous as they are huge and bulky, for as soon as they hear a boat rowing, and perceive any body's approach, they immediately shoot under water and plunge into the deep; but when they find themselves in danger, then they show their great and surprising strength; for then they break to pieces whatever comes in their way, and if they should hit a boat, they would beat it in a thousand pieces. According to the relation of the whale catchers, the whale, being struck, will run away with the line some hundreds of fathoms long, faster than a ship under full sail. Now one would think, that such a vast body should need many smaller fishes and sea animals to feed upon; but on the contrary, his food is nothing but a sort of blubber, called pulmo marinus, or whale food, which is of shape and bigness, as represented in the cuts; it is of a dark brown colour, with two brims of flaps, with which it moves in the water, with such slowness, that one may easily lay hold of it, and get it out of the water. It is like a jelly, soft and slippery, so that if you crush it between your fingers you find it fat and greasy like train oil. The Greenland seas abound in it, which allures and draws this kind of whales thither in search of it; for as their swallow or throat is very narrow (being but four inches in diameter), and the smaller whalebones reaching down his throat, they cannot swallow any hard or large piece 20

of

of other food, having no teeth to chew it with, so that this sort of nourishment suits them best, their mouth being large and wide to receive a great quantity, by opening it and shutting it again, that nature has provided them with the barders or whalebones, which by their closeness only give passage to the water, like a sieve, keeping back the aliment. Here we ought to praise the wise and kind providence of an Almighty Creator, who has made such mean things suffice for the maintenance of so vast an animal. Next to this there is another sort of whales, called the North Capers, from the place of their abode, which is about the North Cape of Norway, though they also frequent the coasts of Iceland, Greenland, and sundry other seas, going in search of their prey, which is herring and other small fish, that resort in abundance to those coasts. It has been observed, that some of these North Cape whales have had more than a tun of herrings in their belly. This kind of

whales has this common with the former called fin-whale, in that it is very swift and quick in its motion, and keeps off from the shore in the main sea, as fearing to become a prey to its enemies, if it should venture too near the shore. His fat is tougher and harder than that of the great bay whale; neither are his barders or bones so long and valuable, for which reason he is neglected.

The fourth sort is the swordfish, so called from a long and broad bone, which grows out of the end of his snout on both sides,

indented like a saw. He has got two fins upon his back, and four under the belly, on each side two; those on the back are the largest: those under the belly are placed just under the first of the back: his tail broad and flat underneath, and above pointed, but not split or cloved. From the hindermost fin of the back he grows smaller: his nostrils are of an oblong shape: the eyes are placed on the top of his head, just above his mouth. There are different sizes of sword-fish, some of twenty feet, some more, some less. This is the greatest enemy the true whale has to deal with, who gives him fierce battles; and, having vanquished and killed him, he contents himself with eating the tongue of the whale, leaving the rest of the huge carcase for the prey and spoils of the morses and sea birds.

The cachelot or pot-fish is a fifth species of whales, whose shape is somewhat different from that of other whales, in that the upper part of his head or skull is much bigger and stronger built; his spouts or pipes are placed on the forehead, whereas other whales have them on the hinder

part of the head: his under jaw is armed with a row of teeth which are but short: his tongue is thin and pointed, and of a yellowish colour: he has but one eye on the side of the head, which makes him of easy access to the Greenlanders, who attack him on his blind side. Of his skull that wrongly so called spermaceti is prepared, yielding twenty to twenty-four tuns thereof. The rest of the body and the tail are like unto those

one

of

of other whales. He is of a brownish colour on the back, and white under the belly; he is of different sizes, from fifty to seventy feet long.

Then comes the white fish, whose shape is not unlike that of the great bay whale, having no fins upon the back, but underneath two large ones; the tail like a whale; his spouts, through which he breathes and throws out the water, are the same; he has likewise a bunch on the head: his colour is of a fading yellow; he is commonly from twelve to sixteen feet in length, and is exceeding fat. The train of his blubber is as clear as the clearest oil: his flesh as well as the fat has no bad taste, and when it is marinated with vinegar and salt, it is as well tasted as any pork whatsoever. The fins also and the tail, pickled or sauced, are good eating. This fish is so far from being shy, that whole droves are seen about the ships at sea : the Greenlanders catch numbers of them, of which they make grand cheer.

There is yet another smaller sort of whales, called but-heads, from the form of its head, which at the snout is flat, like a but's end: he has a fin upon his back towards the tail, and two side fins: his tail is like to that of a whale. In the hinder part of the head he has a pipe to fetch air, and spout the water through, which he does not spout out with that force the whale does his size is from fourteen to twenty feet: he follows ships under sail with a fair wind, and seems to run for a wager with them; whereas, on the contrary, other

whales avoid and fly from them. Their jumping, as well as that of fishes and sea animals, forebodes boisterous and stormy weather.

The sea horse or morse has the shape of a seal, though much larger and stronger. He has five claws on each of his feet, as the seal: his head rounder and larger.

His skin is an inch thick, especially about the neck, very rough, rugged and wrinkled, covered with a short, brown, and sometimes reddish, or mousecoloured hair. Out of his upper jaw there grow two large teeth or tusks, bended downwards over the under jaw, of the length of half a yard, and sometimes of a whole yard and more. These tusks are esteemed as much as elephants' teeth; they are compact and solid, but hollow towards, the root. His mouth is not unlike that of a bull, covered above and beneath with strong bristles as big as a straw: his nostrils are placed above his mouth, as those of the seal: his eyes are fiery red, which he can turn on all sides, not being able to turn his head, by reason of the shortness and thickness of his neck. The tail resembles a seal's tail, being thick and short : his fat is like hog's lard. He lies commonly upon the ice shoals, and can live a good while on shore, till hunger drives him back into the seas; his nourishment being both herbs and fishes: he snores very loud, when he sleeps; and when he is provoked to anger, he roars like a mad bull. It is a very bold and fierce creature, and they assist each other, when attacked, to the last. He is continually at war with the white

bear, to whom he often proves too hard with his mighty tusks, and often kills him, or at least does not give over till they both expire.

The seals are of different sorts and sizes, though in their shape they all agree, excepting the clap myss, so called from a sort of a cap he has on his head, with which he covers it when he fears a stroke. The paws of a seal have five claws, joined together with a thick skin, like that of a goose or a water fowl: his head resembles a dog's with cropped ears, from whence he has got the name of sea dog; his snout is bearded like that of a cat: his eyes are large and clear with hair about them: the skin is covered with a short hair of divers colours, and spotted; some white and

black, others yellowish, others again reddish, and some of a mouse colour; his teeth are very sharp and pointed. Although he seems lamish behind, yet he makes nothing of getting up upon the ice hills, where he loves to sleep and to bask himself in the sun. The largest seals are from five to eight feet in length; their fat yields better train oil than that of any other fish. This is the most common of all the sea animals in Greenland; and contributes the most to the subsisting and maintaining of the inhabitants, who feed upon the flesh of it, and clothe themselves with the skin, which likewise serves them for the covering of their boats and tents: the fat is their fuel, which they burn in their lamps, and also boil their victuals with.

NATURAL

RHINOCEROS.

(From the Asiatic Journal.) I have frequently heard it questioned if a musket-ball would penetrate the hide of a rhinoceros. I remember having the opportunity of making the experiment on the carcase of an old animal of uncommon size, which had been killed near Givalpara, on the border of the wild country of Asam, a spot where rhinoceroses abound. After repeated trials the bullet was found always to fly off, for the skin being very thick and extremely loose, it was constantly by that means put out of its course.

In that part of the country there are many rhinoceroses, and elephants in vast numbers. So numerous a flock was seen crossing the Burhamputa river, at a breadth of two miles, that the channel seemed full, nor was the end of the line perceptible, although they had been some time passing. E. S.'s boat, going down the river, was obliged to put about, as it was impossible to get by them; and it was a considerable time before the line had left the jungles of the eastern side, whilst the jungles

on the western side, prevented their course being traced by the eye.

The people of the country say, that the rhinoceros is much an overmatch for the elephant; as the former being very nimble gets round the elephant, makes his attack in the same manner as the wild boar, and rips up the belly of his antagonist.

On the Dryobalanops Camphora, or Camphor-tree of Sumatra. By H. T. Colebrooke, Esq., President of the Asiatic Society.

(From the same.)

In the fourth volume of the Researches of the Society, in an essay on the express subject, the camphor of Sumatra is stated to be "the produce of a tree growing on the north-west side of Sumatra, from the line to 3o north." A familiar description of the tree is given, on the authority of a gentleman who long resided at Tapanooly: and its botanical place is assigned, " in the class Enneandria Monogynia of Linnæus, differing however in the form of the leaf from the Arbor camphorifera Japanica, and much resembling the bay in leaves."