Other whales of this sub-order are the common Fin Whale, which is said to reach eighty feet in length, the lesser Fin Whale and the Humpback Whale. In these, the yield of whalebone and oil is so small that they are not thought worth the trouble of catching.
The Sperm Whale rarely exceeds sixty feet in length and lives in warm regions, such as the Indian Ocean; rarely, if ever, visiting Arctic or European seas. Its yield of oil is said to be less than that of the Greenland whale but it is of a finer quality. Ambergris is also produced from the body of the sperm whale.
This is a large creature, so like the porpoise that he has been often confounded with it. He is, however, much larger, sometimes measuring from twenty to twenty-five feet in length. The body is roundish, growing gradually less towards the tail; the nose is long and pointed, the skin smooth, the back black or dusky blue, becoming white towards the belly. He is entirely destitute of gills, or any similar aperture, but respires and also spouts water through a pipe of semi-circular form placed on the upper part of the head. There are several varieties of dolphins, including the Long-nosed Dolphins of the rivers of Asia and South America and the Classical Dolphin of the Mediterranean (_Delphinus delphis_) The former are separately classified, and the family of the latter includes the White Whale, the Narwhal, the Common Porpoise and the Grampus. The dolphin is gregarious in its habits, herding and travelling in large shoals. It may sometimes be seen sporting in the bays and rivers of New York and is always a pretty sight.
The White Whale (_Beluga catodon_) is the whale which Dr. R. Brown calls _the_ whale of Greenland. It is the whale which the Greenlander and the Eskimo find so valuable for its oil and flesh, the latter of which they dry for winter use. They are sometimes called sea pigs, from a fancied resemblance they bear to the pig when floundering in the sea, and sometimes sea canaries, on account of their peculiar whistle, which resembles that of a bird.
The narwhal (_Monodon monoceros_) is found frequently in company with the white whale, and inhabits much the same geographical area. It is distinguished by the possession of a tusk, the aim and purpose of which has been much debated. "It has been supposed to use it," says Dr. Brown, "to stir up its food from the bottom, but in such a case the female would be sadly at a loss. Fabricius thought that it was to keep the holes open in the ice during the winter; and the following occurrence seems to support this view. In April, 1860, a Greenlander was travelling along the ice in the vicinity of Christianshaab, and discovered one of those open spaces in the ice, which, even in the most severe winters, remain open. In this hole hundreds of narwhals and white whales were protruding their heads to breathe, no other place presenting itself for miles around. It was described to me as an Arctic 'Black Hole of Calcutta' in the eagerness of the animals to keep at the place." "Neither the narwhal nor the white whale," he continues, are timid animals, but will approach close to, and gambol for hours in the immediate vicinity of the ship." The oil is highly esteemed, and the flesh is very palatable. The skin of the narwhal boiled to a jelly is looked upon, and justly so, as one of the prime dainties of a Greenlander.