_Breathing_.—All the _cetacea_, as is well known, are warmblooded animals, and possess lungs, and, consequently, require a frequent intercourse with atmospheric air, and for this purpose it is necessary that they should rise to the surface of the water at certain intervals. The majority of this class of animals do not appear to perform this function with any regularity, and it is in this respect that the sperm whale is remarkably distinguished among the _cetacea_; and it is from his peculiar mode of “blowing” that he is recognized, even at a great distance, by experienced whalemen. When at the surface for the purposes of respiration the whale generally remains still, but occasionally continues making a gentle progress during the whole of his breathing-time. If the water is moderately smooth, the first part of the whale observable is a dark-colored pyramidal mass, projecting two or three feet out of the water, which is called the “hump.” [Illustration: SPOUTS OF THE SPERM AND RIGHT WHALE.] At very regular intervals of time, the nose, or “noddle-end,” emerges at a distance of from forty to fifty feet from the hump in the full-grown male. From the extremity of the nose the spout is thrown up, which, when seen from a distance, appears thick, low, and bushy, and of a white color. It is formed of the expired air, which is forcibly ejected from the spout-hole, acquiring its white color from the minute particles of water previously lodged in the chink or fissure of the nostril, and also from the condensation of the aqueous vapor thrown off by the lungs. The spout is projected from the spout-hole at an angle of about forty-five degrees, in a slow and continuous manner, for the space of about three seconds of time. If the weather is fine and clear, and there is a gentle breeze at the time, it may be seen from the masthead of a moderate-sized vessel at the distance of five or six miles. The spout of the sperm whale differs much from that of other large _cetacea_, in which it is mostly double, and projected thin, and like a sudden jet; and as in those animals the spout-holes are situated nearly on the top of the head, it is thrown up to a considerable height in almost a perpendicular direction. When, however, a sperm whale is “gallied” or alarmed, the spout is thrown up much higher and with great rapidity, and consequently differs much from its usual appearance. The regularity with which every action connected with its breathing is performed by the sperm whale is very remarkable. The length of time he remains at the surface, the number of spouts or expirations made at one time, the intervals between the spouts, the time he remains invisible “in the depth of the ocean buried,” are all, when the animal is undisturbed, as regular in succession and duration as it is possible to imagine.