This animal has teeth in the lower jaw only; and no whalebone. The substance called spermaceti is extracted from its immense head, which is nearly half the size of the entire animal; and the throat is so large that it could swallow a shark.
The quantity of oil produced from the Spermaceti Whale is not so considerable as that obtained from the common or Greenland Whale, but in quality it is far preferable, as it yields a bright flame, without exhaling any nauseous smell. The substance known by the name of ambergris is also obtained from the body of this animal. It is generally found in the stomach, but sometimes in the intestines; and, in a commercial point of view, is a highly valuable production. The spermaceti is in a fluid state while the animal is living, and as soon as it is dead a hole is made in the head, and the liquid taken out with buckets. It becomes solid as it cools, and it is afterwards made into candles, &c.
When we reflect that the same Power whose will has formed the immense bulk of this marine monster has also given animation, senses, and passions to the smallest of the microscopic animalcules, how lowered must be the pride of man, who, standing in the middle, and nearly at equal distance from both, is yet unable to comprehend the mechanism which puts them in motion, and much less that intelligence and power which has given them life, and has assigned to them their respective stations in the universe! Let us then exclaim, with astonishment and gratitude, with the Psalmist: “O Lord, how inscrutable are thy ways, how magnificent thy works!”
THE DOLPHIN. (Delphinus delphis.)
This animal, like the whale, is not considered a fish, though it lives in the water, as it has warm blood and suckles its young, which are born alive. It has also lungs instead of gills, and is therefore obliged to raise its head above the surface of the water to breathe.