The skeleton of the whalebone whale which was cast ashore at North
Berwick last year, and whose measurement so far exceeds the ordinary
dimensions of animated nature as positively to require to be seen before
being believed, is now in course of preparation, and we believe will be
set up in such a manner as to enable scientific men to examine it with
every advantage. The baleen (commonly called whalebone) has been
prepared with infinite care and trouble, and will be placed in its
original section in the palate. If there be one part more remarkable
than another, it is the appearance of the baleen, or whalebone, when
occupying its natural position; the prodigious quantity (upwards of two
tons), and, at the same time, mechanical beauty connected with every
part of the unique mass, rendering it beyond the power of language to
describe, or give the slightest idea of it. The skull, or brainbone, was
divided vertically, with a view to convenience in moving the head (this
portion of the skeleton weighing eight tons). This section displayed the
cavity for containing the brain; and thus some knowledge of the sentient
and leading organ of an animal, the dimensions of whose instruments of
motion fill the mind with astonishment, will at last be obtained.
Results, unexpected, we believe, by most anatomists were arrived at. The
cavity (a cast of which will be submitted to the anatomical public) was
gauged or measured in the manner first invented and recommended by Sir
William Hamilton, and under that gentleman's immediate inspection; the
weight of the brain, estimated in this way, amounts to 54 lb. imperial
weight. The brain of the small whalebone whale, examined by Mr. Hunter
(the specimen was only 17 feet long), weighed about 4 lb. 10 oz.; the
brain of the elephant weighs between 6 lb. and 7 lb.; the human brain
from 3 lb. to 4 lb. The total length of the whale was 80 feet; and
although Captain Scoresby mentions one which he heard of which was said
to measure somewhat more than 100 feet, it is extremely probable that
this measurement had not been taken correctly. The whale examined by
Sir Robert Sibbald, nearly a century ago, measured exactly 78 feet;
"fourteen men could stand at one time in the mouth; when the tide rose,
a small boat full of men entered easily."--_Scotsman_.
[The total length of the whale found dead on the coast of Belgium, in
1827, and whose skeleton was exhibited in London, during last year, was
95 feet.--See _Mirror_, vol. xviii. p. 104.]
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