The common whale, called by Linnæus _Balæna mysticetus_, has, it is affirmed, been sometimes found 160 feet long. In the seas of Spitzbergen and Greenland, however, whales now seldom reach 70 feet, being generally killed before they arrive at full growth. Head of a triangular shape, and nearly one-third of the size of the fish; under-lip much broader than the upper. Have no teeth, but merely laminæ in the upper jaw, similar to those found in the bill of a duck, but more closely set together, and of a black colour. Tongue, in ordinary sized whales, about 18 or 20 feet long; consists of a soft spongy fat, and frequently yields five or six barrels of oil. That article in commerce, commonly known by the name of _whalebone_, is found adhering to the upper jaw, in thin parallel laminæ, usually measuring from 3 to 10 or 12 feet in length; of these there are generally 200 on each side, which are fit for use. The breadth of the largest, at the thick end, where they are attached to the jaw, is about a foot. When the longest of these laminæ measures six feet, the whale is called a payable or size fish; for every one of which that is caught, the captain generally gets three guineas, the surgeon one, the carpenter one, &c. The whalebone is covered with long hair like that of a horse, which not only preserves the tongue from being hurt, but prevents their food from being returned when they eject the water from their mouths. The throat is not more than three or four inches wide; eyes and ears small. In the middle of the head are two orifices, commonly: called _blow holes_, through which they eject water to a great height. No dorsal fin; a large one under each eye. Body tapers gradually towards the tail, which is often above twenty feet broad, semilunar, and horizontal in respect to the body. Female larger than the male; her teats placed in the lower part of the belly. The colour of the whale varies with its age; the back of some being black, of others black and white, and some are all white; under jaw and belly generally white, whatever may be their age. Some old whales have a broad white strip over their back down to the belly. Their skin is smooth, lubricated, and about one inch thick. I had a book bound with some of the epidermis, or scarf-skin, which I brought home, but it did not altogether answer the purpose. Their bodies, immediately under the skin, are covered with a layer of fat, called _blubber_, from 12 to 18 inches thick in large fish. This, in young whales, resembles hog’s lard; but in old ones it is of a reddish colour. A large whale will produce 12, 20, and sometimes 25 tuns of oil, which now sells at from £30 to £40 per tun. Mr. Scoresby, jun. in a description of the _Balæna mysticetus_, published in the memoirs of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, gives the following table of the ordinary quantity of oil produced from whales of different sizes of bones: