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 Baleen Whales
V.E. Sokolov and V.A. Arsen’ev

Scientific Editors
J. Mead and R.S. Hoffmann

A Volume in the Series

Mammals of Russia and
Adjacent Regions

Translated from Russian

Science Publishers
Enfield (NH) Jersey Plymouth

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 A K Peters/CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
A K Peters/CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Version Date: 20110627

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-4409-0 (eBook - PDF)

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© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 Vladimir Georgievich Heptner
(June 22, 1901–July 5, 1975)

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 UDC 599.53

The book presents information on the biological characteristics of the

suborder of baleen whales of the order Cetacea. The species descriptions
include features of form, systematic position, range, biology, and
practical significance of the members of the suborder.
The book is intended for zoologists, ecologists, and teachers and
students of biology faculties.
Tables 38, illustrations 75, bibliography 480 citations.

Reviewers
V.A. Zemsky, Doctor of Biological Sciences,
V.G. Borkhvardt, A.E. Airapet’yants Doctor of Biological Sciences

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

This book is a continuation of the multivolume publication, Mammals of

the Soviet Union. The series was initiated by Vladimir Georgievich
Heptner, Professor in the Biology Faculty of Moscow State University.
The first volume (Vol. I), devoted to Odd-toed and Even-toed Ungulates
(Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla), was published in 1961 by “Vysshaya
Shkola” publishers. The volume (Vol. II, part 1) on Sea Cows and
Carnivores (Wolves and Bears, Weasels and Additional Species) was
published in 1967, that (Vol. II, part 2) on Carnivores (Hyaenas and Cats)
in 1972, and the one (Vol. II, part 3) on Pinnipeds and Toothed Whales in
1976. Purely technical difficulties did not allow Heptner to publish the
already finalized manuscript of Baleen Whales, and in its place a book
that combined pinnipeds and toothed whales was published (cited
above). In later years, the manuscript of Baleen Whales was
supplemented with new literature, but the principles and sequence of
description of the material followed by Heptner remain unchanged.
Following Heptner’s death, the publication of the series was
discontinued. However, the plan to resume its publication was not
abandoned and work on the manuscript was begun anew in recent
years. The major part was contributed by V.A. Arsen’ev, synonymy had
already been prepared by Heptner, and V.E. Sokolov made many
additions.
The manuscript was submitted to the “Vysshaya Shkola” publishing
house; financial constraints, however, forced the publishers to increase
the cost of production so much that its publication became impossible.
Moreover, the dissolution of the USSR forced the authors to change the
title of the series: from Mammalian of the Soviet Union to Mammals of
Russia and Adjacent Regions. Despite all complications, this new series of
books on the mammals of this region has not been abandoned, and it is
hoped that the work on other groups of mammals will be published in
due course.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 3 FOREWORD TO THE RUSSIAN EDITION

This book is a continuation of the multivolume publication, Mammals

of the Soviet Union. The series was initiated by Vladimir Georgievich
Heptner, Professor in the Biology Faculty of Moscow State University.
The first volume, devoted to Odd-toed and Even-toed Ungulates
(Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla), was published in 1961 by “Vysshaya
Shkola” publishers. The volume on Sea Cows and Carnivores was
published in 1967, that on Carnivores (Hyaenas and Cats) in 1972, and the
one on Pinnipeds and Toothed Whales in 1976. Purely technical difficulties
did not allow Vladimir Georgievich Heptner to publish the already
finalized manuscript of Baleen Whales, and in its place a book that
combined pinnipeds and toothed whales was published. In later years,
the manuscript of Baleen Whales was supplemented with new literature,
but the principles and sequence of description of the material followed
by V.G. Heptner remain unchanged.
Following the death of Vladimir Georgievich Heptner, publication of
the series was discontinued. However, the plan to resume its publication
was not abandoned and work on the manuscript was begun anew in
recent years. The major part was contributed by V.A. Arsen’ev,
synonymy was prepared by V.G. Heptner, and V.E. Sokolov made many
additions.
The authors are extremely grateful to the reviewers for their
comments. The manuscript was submitted to “Vysshaya Shkola”
publishers. However, financial constraints forced the publishers to
increase the cost of production so high that its publication became
impossible.
The dissolution of the USSR forced the authors to change the title of
the series. Despite all complications this series of books on the mammals
of our country has certainly not been abandoned. It is hoped that the
work on other groups of mammals will be published in due course.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 Reprinted from Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 57, No. 2, 20 May 1976, pp. 416-417
Made in United States of America
VLADIMIR G. HEPTNER (1901-1975)
A brief life sketch
In Moscow on 5 July 1975, Dr. Vladimir Georgievich Heptner,
Professor at Moscow State University, passed away in his 75th year.
Professor Heptner was born in Moscow in 1901. From the day he
entered Moscow University as a graduate student in 1919, Prof.
Heptner’s scientific and academic career was indissolubly linked with
Moscow University’s Faculty of Biology, and with its Zoological
Museum. In 1929, he became curator of mammals at the Museum and
assistant professor; in 1934, he attained the rank of full professor.
Heptner combined his intensive scientific work with continuous
academic activity. Many Soviet biologists, zoogeographers,
morphologists, ecologists, and systematists, as well as mammalogists
count themselves among his students, and his high esteem among his
Soviet colleagues is manifested by their naming about 20 taxa of animals
of different classes in his honor. Professor Heptner’s scientific and
pedagogic activities made him a leader of Soviet zoology and one of the
world’s most renowned mammalogists. He was one of the oldest
members of the Moscow Society of Naturalists and of the Geographical
Society of the USSR, and an honorary member of the All-Russian Society
of Wild Life Conservation. In 1974, when the Theriological Society of the
USSR was founded, he was made its vice-president. His scientific
contributions were recognized in many foreign countries; he was an
honorary member of the American Society of Mammalogists, the
Gesellschaft Naturforschen der Freunde zu Berlin, the Deutschen
Gesellschaft für Saugetierkunde, and the Zoological Society of
Czechoslovakia. He was also a member of the European Society of
Mammal Protection, and of the International Union for Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources.
It is regrettable that during this long and productive career only a
small number of non-Soviet mammalogists were fortunate enough to
become personally acquainted with his keen mind and breadth of
interests. Heptner is best known to American mammalogists for his
publications in systematics and zoogeography. He dedicated many
years of his life to the problems of zoogeography of the USSR, and of the
Holarctic as a whole. In particular, his numerous studies of Middle and
Central Asia and Asia Minor, such as his detailed investigations of Old
World deserts, and his insights into the role of environment in race

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 x

formation of desert animals, are of great significance. His contribution to

systematics of various mammalian groups is also weighty. We may note
especially his work on systematics of Gerbillinae, a group in which he
was especially interested. In the course of his systematic activity, he
described about 70 new forms (subspecies, species, and subgenera) of
mammals. Evolutionary problems were of the greatest interest to Prof.
Heptner, especially those of microevolution and subspeciation. He was
active not only as a scientist, but a popularizer in the USSR of the
polytypic species concept. In this connection, he initiated the translation
into Russian of such books as Ernst Mayr’s “Systematics and origin of
species” (in 1947); “Animal species and evolution” (in 1968); “Principles
of systematic zoology” (in 1971); and “Populations, species and
evolution” (in 1974); Mayr, Linsley and Usinger’s “Methods and
principles of systematic zoology” (in 1956); and A. Cain’s “Animal
species and their evolution” (in 1958), all published under his
editorship. Professor Heptner also served on editorial boards of various
periodicals, including “Zoologicheskii Zhurnal,” “Doklady Vysshei
Shkoly,” “Okhota i okhotnichië khozyaistvo,” “Lynx,” “Das
Pelzgewerbe,” and “Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen.”
An excellent field naturalist, Heptner took part in many expeditions
to all parts of the Soviet Union. Under his leadership field parties
investigated such diverse areas as the Soviet Arctic, Middle Russia, the
northern Caucasus Mountains, Transcaucasia, Turkmeniya, Uzbekistan,
the Pamir, the Altai Mountains, and the Soviet Far East. His familiarity
with the natural wealth of the USSR, and his appreciation of the
problems attendant upon utilization of the country’s resources, led him
to assume a pioneering role in wildlife conservation. At the same time,
his broad approach permitted him to work effectively in “applied”
fields such as medical zoology, pest control, fur harvest, and commercial
hunting.
Professor Heptner was the author or co-author of about 300
published works, among them such monographs as “Mammals of the
middle Kopet Dagh and adjacent plains” (1929), “General
Zoogeography” (1936), “Rodents of Middle Asia” (1936), “Vertebrate
animals of Badkhyz” (1956), and “Harmful and useful mammals of the
protective forest zones” (1950), the latter having been translated into
German. Heptner initiated, in 1961, publication of the monumental
“Mammals of the Soviet Union” which he regarded as the successor to
Ognev’s “Mammals of the USSR and Adjacent Countries.” He
considered this his major task for two reasons. First, Ognev’s
monograph had never been completed, lacking volumes on certain
muroid rodents and hoofed mammals. Second, it was becoming out-of-

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 xi

date, the first volume having been published in 1928. Heptner felt
strongly about the fact that, in 1962, an English translation of Ognev was
undertaken which would provide ready access by non-Russian readers
to a work which, while excellent in its day, was already being
superceded. His first volume (1961) included hoofed mammals, thus
filling one of the gaps in Ognev. Volume two, in two parts (1967, 1972),
covered the carnivores. Both have been translated into German but,
unfortunately not yet into English. By 1975, two additional volumes
were prepared for printing. It is reassuring to know that his last, greatest
work will be carried on by his students.
Those students, and his other colleagues, feel his loss especially
deeply—he was their teacher and guide. But all may mourn the death
of such a man of great culture, integrity, fortitude, and generosity, ready
to help anyone with his words and deeds.
OLGA L. ROSSOLIMO AND ROBERT S. HOFFMANN, Zoological Museum,
Moscow State University, Herzen St., No. 6, Moscow, K-9, USSR, and
Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
66045.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 CONTENTS

FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH EDITION v

FOREWORD TO THE RUSSIAN EDITION vii (3)
VLADIMIR G. HEPTNER (1901-1975): A BRIEF LIFE SKETCH ix
VLADIMIR GEORGIEVICH HEPTNER
(JUNE 22-1901-JULY 5, 1975):
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 1 (4)
ORDER OF CETACEANS—CETACEA BRISSON, 1762 15 (13)
KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SUBORDERS 18 (15)
Suborder of Baleen or Toothless Whales—
Suborder Mysticeti Flower, 1864 19 (16)
Key for Identification of Families of the
Suborder of Baleen Whales 25 (21)
Family of Gray Whales—Family Eschrichtiidae
Weber, 1904 26 (21)
Genus of Gray Whales, Eschrichtius Gray, 1864 27(22)
Gray Whales, Eschrichtius robustus Lillijeborg, 1861 28 (22)
Diagnosis 28 (22)
Description 28 (22)
Geographic Distribution 32 (25)
Geographic Variation 33 (27)
Biology 36 (28)
Practical Significance 60 (45)
Family of Rorquals and Humpback
Whales – Family Balaenopteridae Gray, 1864 61 (45)
Key for Identification of Species of the Family
of Rorquals and Humpback Whales 65 (49)
Genus of Rorquals Balaenoptera Lacepede, 1804 66 (50)
Lesser Rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Lacépède, 1804 67 (50)
Diagnosis 68 (52)
Description 68 (52)

Numbers in brackets are the page numbers in the Russian edition — Editor

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 xiv

Geographic Distribution 72 (54)

Geographic Variation 74 (56)
Biology 77 (57)
Practical Significance 93 (69)
Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis Lesson, 1828 97 (71)
Daignosis 97 (71)
Description 97 (72)
Geographic Distribution 100 (73)
Geographic Variation 103 (75)
Biology 103 (76)
Practical Significance 120 (87)
Bryde’s Whale, Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1878 123 (89)
Fin Whale or Herring Whale, Balaenoptera physalus
Linnaeus, 1758 127 (92)
Diagnosis 128 (92)
Description 128 (92)
Geographic Distribution 134 (96)
Geographic Variation 136 (98)
Biology 137 (99)
Practical Significance 168 (118)
Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 173 (121)
Diagnosis 173 (122)
Description 174 (123)
Systematic Position 177 (125)
Geographic Distribution 177 (125)
Geographic Variation 179 (126)
Biology 180 (126)
Practical Significance 194 (135)
Genus of Humpback Whales, Megaptera Gray, 1864 196 (136)
Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Borowski, 1781 197 (137)
Diagnosis 198 (137)
Description 198 (137)
Geographic Distribution 203 (142)
Geographic Variation 205 (143)
Biology 207 (144)
Practical Significance 231 (161)

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 xv

Family of Right Whales—Family Balaenidae

Gray, 1825 232 (161)
Key for Identification of Species of Family
Balalenidae 235 (164)
Genus of Black Right Whales, Eubalaena Gray, 1864 235 (165)
Southern (Japanese) Right Whale, Eubalaena
glacialis Muller 237 (165)
Diagnosis 238 (165)
Description 238 (165)
Geographic Distribution 241 (169)
Geographic Variation 243 (169)
Biology 245 (171)
Practical Significance 255 (178)
Genus of Greenland or Right Whales, Balaena
Linnaeus, 1758 256 (178)
Greenland or Right Whale, Balaena mysticetus
Linnaeus, 1758 257 (179)
Diagnosis 257 (179)
Description 257 (179)
Geographic Distribution 258 (181)
Geographic Variation 260 (181)
Biology 261 (182)
Practical Significance 280 (194)
Literature Cited 283 (196)

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 4 VLADIMIR GEORGIEVICH HEPTNER
(June 22, 1901 – July 5, 1975)

A Brief Biographical Sketch (4)

The author of these lines makes no pretense to writing a purely
scientific biography of Prof. Vladimir Georgievich Heptner (fairly
complete publications in this category were published in the Soviet and
foreign journals on the occasion of jubilees to celebrate his 60th and 70th
birthdays, and also in obituaries); rather, he seeks to provide
biographical information that was never published before or to highlight
events that sometimes played a tragic role in his life and in some way
determined its course. Understandably, it is impossible to avoid writing
about certain stages in his scientific career because Vladimir
Georgievich’s entire life, starting from student years to the very last
days, was wholly devoted to science.
The Heptner family is apparently quite old, with roots originating in
Germany. The exact place of origin and the nature of occupation of the
ancestors is presently not known. However, the etymology of the family
name would seem to indicate peasantry affinity, for if we delete the
Russianized and dialectic distortions, it initially sounded like “Höpfner”
which is translated as “hop grower”. The Germanic origin of the family,
which until the revolution had no bearing whatsoever on social status,
was recorded in the new passports in the Soviet rule (in Tsarist Russia
there was only one column—religious belief), and played a great, even
tragic role in the fate of V.G*., his brother and his sister. All this was
absurd, more so because V.G. (and his parents also) were men of
Russian culture and true Russian national pride and patriotism.
The first documented evidence about the Heptner family can be
traced to Riga where the great-grandfather of V.G. Karl Wilhelm
Heptner, lived in the 18th century. From the family records of the Riga
Tax Administration it appears he [K.W. Heptner] was either a merchant
or a craftsman. The dates of his birth and death are not known. It can
be tentatively inferred from the year of birth (1772) of his wife, Anna
Katerina Elizabet Heptner (formerly Korsch). The date of her death is
not known. It is only known that in 1896 she was 104 years old. The
family had three daughters and three sons, of which Andreus Yulius
(1812-1883), the grandfather of V.G., was a merchant in early years and
later served as an accountant in two factories in St. Petersburg. All were

*Prof. Heptner is referred to in this manner throughout the reminder of this sketch—
Sci. Ed.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 2

professed Lutherans. One of his two sons (he also had two daughters),
Georgii (George Julius) Andreevich (1867-1935), born in St. Petersburg,
was the father of V.G. Vladimir Heptner’s mother, Valeria (Valeria
Cecilia) Augustinovna (formerly Kovalevskaya), also a professed
Lutheran, was of German-Polish descent, originating from Poznan, more
precisely the small town of Kratoshina. From there her father, Augustin
Georgievich, a compositor proficient in Polish, German, and French, and
familiar with Greek and Latin, migrated to St. Petersburg and later to
Vladimir where he worked in the printing press of the Vladimir
Governance. His children (nine boys and one girl) lived in Vladimir and
Moscow. In 1896 the 20-year-old Valeria Augustinovna was married in
the Vladimir Evangelist-Lutheran Church to Georgii Andreevich
Heptner.
5 V.G.’s father came to Moscow from Petersburg in the 1870s,
completed studies at the Moscow Agricultural School, served in the
army for five years, and then as an accountant at the Moscow Boiler
Plant in Bari, and from 1901 worked as a painter and managed the
accounts of the Reformed Lutheran church in Moscow on the Malyi
Trekhsvyatitel’skii (now Malyi Vuzovskii) Lane of Pokrovskii Boulevard
and lived there. The house now belongs to the All-Russian Society of
Evangelist-Baptist Christians and Seventh-Day Adventists. From 1918 to
1924 he worked as an accountant in various Soviet establishments.
Valeria Augustinovna, thanks to her proficiency in foreign languages,
worked as a teacher and proofreader at the Institute of Foreign
Languages. The family included five children: sons Aleksander (1898-
1900), Vladimir (1901-1975), Georgi (1905-1951), Erick (1907-1944), and
daughter Galina (1915-1976).
Before the revolution the family lived poorly but had sufficient
means. The parents sought to give their surviving elder son a good
education and sent him to the costly Swiss Reformed grammar school.
For that time, the school provided an excellent education, with
compulsory knowledge, of many foreign languages. Its director, M.F.
Berg, was a mathematician famous for his scientific works. The teachers
were men of higher and broad education and several were well known
in the field of science. Some were professors at Moscow University, for
example, the historian V.S. Sokolov and V.N. Bochkarev. Therefore, it is
not surprising that the grammar school produced a large number of
persons famous in culture and science, who studied with Vladimir
Georgievich. Among them mention may be made of the actor A.N.
Glumov of MKhAT [Moscow Academic Art Theater], theater artists
Evgeniy Vakhtangov, A. Goryunov, famous pianist L. Oborin, famous
illusionist E. Kio, Professor-philologist B. Purishev, Professor-
psychologist F. Shemyakin, Doctor of Medicine J. Gilbert, diplomat,

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 3

ambassador of the USSR to the USA and Mexico, K. Umansky, and

participant in the historic Papanin drift, doctor of geographical sciences
E. Krenkel.
The Heptner family had no traditions in biology, V.G. received his
first impressions through an acquaintance with nature during summer
vacations, which he and his brothers spent at the summer resort of his
grandmother, Emma Ivanovna Kovalevskaya, in the vicinity of Vladimir
on the banks of the Klyzma River and its tributary Koloksha (Koloksha
Station). Both rivers were full flowing and rich in fish then and the
surroundings barely touched by human intervention. This produced a
rich impression on the keenly observant child and aroused in him the
makings of a future zoologist. This aptitude developed rapidly and led
him, a young grammar school boy, to the Zoological Museum of
Moscow University, where he met Professor, M.A. Menzbir, the famous
zoologist and ornithologist. Professor Menzbir, known for his strict and
austere mien with his students and peers was concomitantly
accommodating to young scholars evincing interest and inclination in
zoology. He understood well the importance of identifying and
nurturing talent at the very large stage of its manifestation. Apparently
this meeting conclusively determined the fate of V.G.
In 1919, V.G. entered the Physicomathematical Faculty of Moscow
State University and began in October a study of ornithology with the
then very young assistant S.I. Ognev. His group included Vorob’ev,
Promptov, Pereleshin, Yurkanskii and Sobolevskii, who later became
leading ornithologists. Thus began the intense expeditional activity of
V.G. under the active participation and influence of teachers, leading
zoologists M.A. Menzbir, P.P. Sushkin, S.A. Buturlin, S.I. Ognev, and
G.A. Kozhevnikov, who laid the foundations of his scientific interest
which persisted to the end of his life.
The first ornithological expeditions were undertaken with K.A.
Vorob’ev at the suggestion of Professor Kozhevnikov as early as the
spring of 1920 in the floodplains of the Oka, Pakhra, and Yakhroma
rivers in the forests of Podolsk and Serpukhov districts, and to Lake
Senezh. However, already that summer, at the behest of Professor
6 Menzbir, he and N.I. Sobolevskii were commissioned as ornithologists
in the Great Turgai Meliorative* Expeditions of the Peoples
Commissariat of Agriculture in Turgai (now Kustanai) Region. He
returned only in November 1921, having made a large collection and
gained experience in serious field work. In this expedition he was struck
by the beauty and bounty of the open expanse of the steppes, love for

*Soil Conservation—Sci. Ed.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 4

which remained with him for the rest of his life. Having taken the
external examinations of the University for two years, by the summer of
1922 V.G., again with his friend K.A. Vorob’ev, participated in the
second stage of the Voronezh zoological expedition headed by S.I.
Ognev. The expedition was headquartered at the famous Dokuchaev
Experimental Station of Kamennaya Step’ and the young zoologists
made ornithological observations in the Khrenovsk pine forest in the
valley of the Usman River and at Lake Bityug. In the summer of the
same year S.I. Ognev sent his students—Vorob’ev, Shibanov, and
Heptner—accompanied by L.B. Beme [Boehm] to then almost
unexplored Dagestan for a two-week expedition under the Peoples
Commissariat of Education. These zoologists studied the neighborhood
of Makhachkala Khasav-Yurtovsk and part of the Buinak District. Here,
for the first time, V.G. found himself in foothill and montane landscape
and acquired a taste for mammalogical studies. Work in Dagestan
continued until the summer of the next year (1924) in montane Dagestan
and in its southern and Kizlyar districts. The area under study extended
to the borders with Georgia in the south and the Caspian Sea coast in
the east. The expedition was funded by the Dagestan Peoples
Commissariat of Education and for V.G. it concluded in Pyatigorsk at
the Organizational Congress of the Northern Kazakhstan Montane
Territory Association in the beginning of September. Here V.G. made his
first scientific presentation entitled “Okhrana prirody i kraevedenie”
[Nature conservation and regional study], a summary of which was
published in the proceedings. This was his first published work which
laid the foundation of his constant scientific interest and activity in the
field of nature conservation and management of preserves.
In 1925, V.G. graduated from the University but continued as an
aspirant [graduate student] with Professor G.A. Kozhevnikov and S.I.
Ognev. The same year (April-July) V.G. under the guidance of Ognev
proceeded on a privately funded expedition to Turkestan (the then
Trans-Caspian Region) in the Kopet-sDag mountains and the adjoining
plains, together with zoologists S.I. Bilkevich, director of Turkmenian
Museum in Ashkhabad (Bilkevich was later prosecuted and died in jail)
and S.A. Akleksandrov, laboratory assistant, who also served the late
N.A. Zarudnyi. By this time the relationship between the teacher, S.I.
Ognev, and the student, V.G., had metamorphosed into fast friendship.
Despite 15 years difference in age, they were on a first name basis and
this unadorned enduring friendship lasted to the end of S.I. Ognev’s life.
A formal declaration of this friendship, so to speak, was made by Sergei
Ivanovich Ognev in their group work published in 1929. In the
introduction to this work, V.G. is described as “my friend and constant
companion V.G.,” who made invaluable contributions to the work. S.I.

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Ognev, whom V.G. regarded as one of his best teachers, broadened his
interest in taxonomic studies and their joint journies helped select the
first suitable object for study—the rodents, and primarily the gerbil
group. It is this series of publications on gerbils that later brought him
recognition worldwide. Turkmenia greatly influenced V.G. and played
a great role in his life; he returned there repeatedly. After publishing a
series of papers on Dagestan, V.G. went back again to Turkmenia in
1927. In his expedition he investigated the valleys of the Chandyr,
Sumbar, western Khorasan, gorges of the Chul’ and Firyuza rivers, and
the neighborhood of Ashkhabad. In Ashkhabad, in the house of S.I.
Bilkevich, where intelligent youth of the then small town met constantly,
V.G. met his would-be wife, Nina Sergeevna Rudneva.
Nina Sergeevna was born in 1905 in montane Dagestan in a small
place called Dishlagar, where the Samur Infantry Regiment was
stationed and where her father, Sergei Ivanovich Rudnev served as an
officer. Due to the frequent movements of the Samur Regiment, Nina
Sergeevna studied first in the institute for daughters of the nobility in
Tbilisi and then in grammar schools of different cities in the Northern
Caucasus, and in Soviet times in Baku. During World War I her father
7 fought on the L’vov front, became a Georgiev Cavalier, and by the end
of the war a General. In the civil war he served the Red Army but soon
changed over to the White Army and became one of its commandants
fighting in the Caucasus. In 1920, after the fall of the puppet government
and capture of Baku by the Bolsheviks, he died during the Red
repression. According to the Soviet Order of that time Nina Sergeevna,
as the daughter of a White officer, more so of a family of a well-known
army commander, had her rights curtailed and on completion of
secondary school could not continue her education. After 1920 her
family relocated to Ashkhabad, where Nina Sergeevna worked as a
typist in various Soviet establishments.
Boris Mikhailovich Zhitkov, professor, the then head of the chair of
Vertebrate Zoology of Moscow State University, a hunter, traveler, great
expert on matters relating to the North and hunting trade, was one of
the teachers of V.G., who greatly influenced his scientific interest. Under
his patronage, four years after returning from Turkmenia in the
summer-fall of 1938, V.G. was sent on a scientific hunting expedition of
the Commissariat of the Northern Sea Route to explore the possibility of
establishing commercial hunting. During this expedition V.G. visited the
White, Barents, and Kara seas, and Dickson and Taimyr Islands onboard
the whaling schooner Professor Boris Zhitkov (formerly the Andrei
Pervozvannyi). The expedition was planned with Zhitkov. The main
interest was white whale (beluga) hunting. The result was a 100-page

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publication (more a monograph) on beluga, the economics of its trade in

Norway, and notes on the mammals of Taimyr.
However, the North, despite its well-known attraction, did not
influence V.G.’s attachment for the Asiatic territory. In 1929, he once
again visited Turkestan, western and eastern Karakum and Repetek
[deserts], also within the framework of hunting interests funded by the
Central Fur Convention and State Fur Trade Organization. This was also
under the inspiring patronage of B.S. Zhitkov.
Interest in the Central Asian fauna also deepened and in the summer
of 1929 V.G. was again back in Asia. However, this time it was
Uzbekistan, as a participant of the joint expedition of the Peoples
Commissariat of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and the Zoological Institute
of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, under the overall leadership of
Professor, famous St. Petersburg mammalogist, V.S. Vinogradov. The
route was: Samarkand-Kokand-Fergana-Samarkand. In 1936, the
monograph Grizuny Srednei Azii [Rodents of Central Asia] appeared,
coauthored with Vinogradov and A.I. Argiropulo, in which V.G. Wrote
the section of gerbils.
In 1930, V.G. and Nina Sergeevna were married and they and her
mother moved from Ashkhabad to Moscow. The next three years were
devoted to publications on rodents, fur farming, and trade. In 1933,
repression did not spare even V.G.’s family. In the same year, he and his
wife were both arrested after being denounced by a common
acquaintance and committed under section 58/10 to a three-year term in
a corrective labor camp. For those rather liberal times, the term was
relatively short. After preliminary confinement in a Butyr prison, V.G.
was sent to the Mariinsk and Nina Sergeevna to the Novosibirsk
corrective labor camp of the Siberian division of Gulag* (Siblag**). In the
same year, A.Ya. Vyshinskii took over as General Procurator. In the
beginning of his career in this field, he undertook scrutiny of several
cases. These included, fortunately, the convicted Heptners. It was
recognized that accusations were false and fabricated, and after about
six months V.G. and Nina Sergeevna were released and allowed to
return to Moscow. Nevertheless, the fact of their internment in a
corrective labor camp remained a blemish of civil impropriety for many
years, arousing suspicion in familiar circles, and becoming particularly
acute in the second wave of repression at the end of the 1930s and
during the war years.
In the earlier years of intensive expeditions extensive material had
been collected, and Heptner’s term in the corrective labor camp in no

*The Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps—Translator.

**Siberian Corrective Labor Camps—Translator.

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way affected the rate of his publications. In the summer of 1934, V.G.,
with S.S. Turov and the famous animal artist, A.N. Komarov, set forth
for the then practically unexplored Altai mountains. Under the guidance
8 of S.S. Turov, the expedition proceeded on horse-back along the banks
of the Kyga, Chulyshman, and Tushken rivers, and explored the banks
of Lake Telets. The results of this expedition left no imprint on the
works of V.G. in the form of a special publication. This is explained,
apparently, by intensive work on the earlier collected material and work
on the Grizuny Srednei Azii [Rodents of Central Asia] and Obshchaya
Zoogeografiya [General Zoogeography]. In 1934, V.G. was confirmed as
professor in the Biology Faculty and in 1936, after publication of the
aforesaid book, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Biological Sciences
without submitting a dissertation.
V.G.’s interest in systematics, including circumnumbers and structure
of species, but with broader limitations, continued to deepen. In this
connection he undertook a small expedition in the summer of 1936 to
study the local rodent fauna. The result was his well-known work,
Lesnye Myshi Gornogo Kryma [Forest Mice of Montane Crimea] highly
valued by rodentologists, although published, it is true, much later
(1940).
The next five years saw intensive scientific and pedagogic activity
and an overall rise in productivity that reached a maximum in 1941. Of
these, the year 1940 was noted for the birth of his son Mikhail. In 1941,
V.G. was transferred from the post of head of the section of mammalogy
of the Zoological Museum to Professor of the chair of Vertebrate
Zoology. The same year saw war break out on his birthday, June 22.
Soon, bombing started, and V.G. and his friends and assistants
maintained a night vigil on the roof of the Zoological Museum to ward
off enemy fire bombs. In autumn, as the front drew closer to Moscow,
evacuation of the university, including faculties, to Ashkhabad was
completed. However, not all the faculties were evacuated. For example,
the History Faculty not only did not shift but actually continued to
teach. Professors of the Zoological Faculty, S.I. Ognev, B.S. Matveev and
many others did not want to leave the University. V.G. also decided to
stay back. However, he was forced to leave when it was made clear to
him in no uncertain terms that if he stayed, he would fall into the hands
of NKVD*. Such a prospect threatened his brother Georgi, an ace pilot,
who in the first days of the war was flying heavy transport planes with
war supplies to the front. He was soon captured by the Germans and
sent to the concentration camp near Norilsk. There, along with the
would-be academician B.V. Raushenbakh (now president of the

*Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs (1917-1946)—Translator.

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movement of Russian Germans for State autonomy, and a colleague of

the famous rocket builder S.P. Korolev), he spent the first few war years
working in the forging shop as a hammer man.
On October 29, escorted by the last echelon (the zoological faculty
was disbanded on October 16) the family of V.G. moved to Ashkhabad.
The echelon had barely crossed the bridge on the Oka River, before it
was destroyed by the enemy air force. It was likewise fortunate to
escape bombing in the city of Mikhailov, and to bypass the bridge on the
Volga near Saratov.
Once again V.G. visits his beloved Turkmenia despite wartime
difficulties, and continues field work, heading in the summer of 1942 an
expedition organized by the university together with the Directorate for
Preserves in Turkmenia, in the just-established Badkhyz Preserve. The
entire route was traversed on camels. The difficult conditions of travel
in the hot waterless country notwithstanding, V.G. returns to
Ashkhabad complete with plans for further studies of Badkhyz. Here he
is distressed to learn that the faculty was to be shifted to Ekaterinburg
and that some of the scientists have already left. Remaining behind
would have meant leaving the university.
On arrival in Ekaterinburg, V.G. and his family were promptly put
under surveillance by the local NKVD, who sounded an alert for
dispatching him, as a German, to the corrective labor camp and his wife
with aged mother and two-year-old son to a village. Their passports
were confiscated. Warm clothing was collected for V.G. by his
colleagues. But his fate was suddenly reversed by a chance street
meeting with the zoologist Boris Vladimirovich Obraztsov, brother of
the famous actor-puppeteer S.V. Obraztsov. Their father, a famous
scientist in the field of railroad transportation, an academician, and a
9 member of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR,
Vladimir Nikolaevich Obraztsov, was the organizer and head of all the
military transportation in the country, with the title of Director General
of the first order, which is equivalent to a Regimental General in the
army. At the recommendation of his son Boris and after a heart-to-heart
talk with V.G., Obraztsov, Senior, a man of great influence, took
appropriate measures, got the confiscated passports returned to him,
and saw to it that the family was left in peace.
Life in the Ural town was extremely difficult and there was little food.
Many, including V.G., suffered from hunger; scientific work of all types
ceased. Nevertheless, V.G. continued to work on his Kulan* material. In
1943, the faculty headship made it compulsory for him to return to

*Kulan is the Russian name for a species of wild ass that lives in Middle Asia, Equus
onager—Sci. Ed.

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Moscow. However, here [Moscow] V.G. suffered a fresh blow. A

German according to his passport, he was ordered by the NKVD office
to return [to Ekaterinburg]. On leaving colleagues, he later wrote: “I feel
like a jellyfish on the shore during low tide.” He was released from the
university and offered a chair at the Ekaterinburg Pedagogic Institute.
However, his friends and colleagues concertedly worked for his return.
Finally, in the spring of 1944, consequent to attempts by the dean of the
faculty, S.D. Yudintsev, V.I. Tsalkin, and S.S. Turov, letters by the dean
to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party on Ideology, A.A.
Zhdanov, and a petition by 12 professors of the biological faculty to the
Peoples’ Commissariat of Internal Affairs, L.P. Beria, permission was
granted. In the beginning of summer the Heptner family returned to
Moscow and V.G. was reinstated as professor in the faculty.
But the joy of return was soon spoiled by another sorrow. On July 1,
1944, the youngest and most affectionate brother of V.G., commander of
mine-torpedo boats, Erick, died in the Baltic. His was a tragic fate. An
excellent pilot, the 36-year-old, experienced and very brave pilot, had
served in the army even before the war, and fought at the front when
the war began. However, in accord with a special decree of Stalin
ordering all Germans out of the army, and his presence near the front
was banned. All three years of the war while his middle brother Georgi
was in a concentration camp, he flew inland routes in Siberia, ferrying
war planes from the Far East to the west. There, at Irkutsk airport in July
1943, he came across his old friend, Hero of the Soviet Union, I.G.
Shamanov, pilot of the 1st Guard of the Red Banner Klaipeda mine-
torpedo squadron, famous for its regular audacious bombings of Berlin
and Stettin (Szczecin) from August 7 to September 4, 1940. I.G.
Shamanov, unaware of the ban against Erick, flew him straight to the
regiment based near St. Petersburg. Erick immediately began flying on
war assignments, having neither military rank nor even experience in
this respect. Only later, because of an official recommendation from his
old colleague in air force, who knew him well, the famous pilot
commander of the 31st guard bombing air squadron, Hero of the Soviet
Union V.S. Grizodubova, in the presence of the Commander of the
military marine forces, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov, and Commander of
the military marine fleet, Brigadier General S.F. Zhavoronkov, was Erick
officially enlisted in the regiment. For less than one year of flights he
was decorated with four orders of the Red Banner of Battle, not to
mention medals, and shortly before his death on June 16, was presented
with the Hero of the Soviet Union. V.G. later, repeatedly and
particularly in the last years of his life, because of his affection for Erick,
went to great lengths to restore justice and obtain the posthumous
awards given to his brother. But in vain. The reason once again—the
family’s German origin.

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Upon return to Moscow after evacuation, life rapidly changed to a

working regime. There was no let up in publications by V.G. and at the
same time he delivered many lecture courses. Among his papers, the
more important are works on the fauna of Turkmenia, and the desert-
steppe fauna as a whole and its development. Simultaneously, at the
initiative and insistence of V.G., and under his constant editorial
supervision, a Russian translation of the first of Ernst Meyer’s books,
Systematics and Origin of the Species, was published. For this book V.G.
wrote the foreword that was more a review of the overall problem than
10 a commentary on Meyer’s work Problema Vida v Sovremennoi Zoologi
[The Species Problem in Modern Zoology], reflected Heptner’s
unflagging interest in evolution. By publication in Russian of Meyer’s
book, V.G. familiarized a wide circle of Soviet zoologists with
contemporary ideas in evolution, substantially accelerating work in this
field in our country.
However, large parts of Turkmenian fauna, in particular the
vertebrate fauna of Badkhyz, under preparation for publication,
urgently required new material. So in the spring-summer of 1948 V.G.
returned once more to his beloved Turkmenia on a second Badkhyz
expedition, as planned earlier in 1942. This time the expedition, again
undertaken under his leadership, was not as difficult as the first since it
moved in transport trucks and was, of course, better equipped in all
respect. Work went smoothly and successfully. But soon upon his return
V.G. was shocked at the famous and epoch-making session of the
VASKhNIL*, by the famous speech, coming soon after the arrest and
death of Academician N.I. Vavilov in internment, in support of T.D.
Lysenko O Polozhenine Biologicheskoi Nauki [On the State of Biological
Science], approved by the Central Committee of the CPSU**. The
triumph of Ly senkovianism meant black days and years of destruction
of biology in our country. There began the purging of leading geneticists
and evolutionists [Darwinists] and all “non-Michurinists” were
presented. I.I. Present, dean of the biology faculty, who replaced the
expelled S.D. Yudintsev, became a towering Lysenkovian. V.G. was
branded as a Morganist and tried by Michurinists for the ideas
expounded in his foreword to Ernst Meyer’s book and as a supporter of
the disgraced Academician I.I. Schmalhausen. The paper Moskovskii
Universitet, in its censure (October 2, 1948, No. 35/36), wrote “....
professors of biological faculty Zenkeevich and Heptner were silent
about their serious errors during evaluation of the activity of members
of the anti-Michurin trend in biology.” Naturally, as long as I.I. Present

*Akad. Agric. Sci. named for Lenin—Sci. Ed.

**Communist Party of the Soviet Union—Sci. Ed.

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was the dean of the faculty, V.G. was under constant attack by the
faculty Michurinists.
Nevertheless, the end of the 1940s was the beginning of a new
prolonged (over 20 years) period in the life of V.G., which witnessed no
major expeditions but was a period of regular work on imparting
accumulated knowledge, development of work in all rather diverse
areas of his scientific and applied interests, teaching and social-scientific
activity. Life proceeded without ups and downs, greatly assisted by
regular summer rests in the beautiful environs of Ryzam Region on the
Oka River, in the village of Kopanovo not far from the Oka Preserve. In
these lovely native haunts, starting from 1950, V.G. spent each summer
with his family and friends, fishing, hunting and concomitantly
continuing his work and field observations. At the same time, 1950 and
1951 were years of great personal loss for V.G. At the end of 1950,
Zakhavatkin and in 1951, still relatively young, his younger brother
Georgi, and an old friend and teacher Prof. S.I. Ognev suddenly died.
These losses affected neither the state of mind nor health of V.G. This to
some extent was also helped by the naturalist’s obsessive activities in
the fight to preserve the system of preserves*, for whose establishment
and development V.G. had expended much energy. The system of
preserves in the continuing strategic Michurinist onslaught on biology
was “reorganized” or, simply speaking, was eventually destroyed. As a
result, the total area of preserves in the country was reduced to one-
tenth.
The sudden death of Professor Ognev at the age of 65 greatly
complicated and perforce changed the life plans of V.G. Sergei
Ivanovich Ognev himself had felt in the last few years of his life that he
would not be able to complete publication singlehandedly of the
grandiose work Zvery SSSR [Animals of the USSR]. He planned to
complete the eighth volume with the participation of V.G. (gerbils) and
to revise additions to the already published volumes, delegating the
11 remaining undescribed groups to other authors, himself providing only
overall guidance for the series. The death of Professor Ognev perforce
placed before V.G., as his closest student, friend, and receiver of the
museum, the need to continue the publications S.I. Ognev had begun.
For this, he initially worked as the editor of volume IX pertaining to
Cetaceans (Vol. VIII remained incomplete)** written by A.G. Tomilin
(published in 1957). At the same time, he decided to start an almost new
series of volumes on the mammals, incorporating S.I. Ognev’s desire to

*In Russian, zapovednik.

**Explanation not supplied.

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update the already published volumes and to resume incomplete work

at the same level. Thus fate and force of circumstances rather than
personal desire, prompted the new series of volumes entitled
Mlekopitayushchie Sovetskogo Soyuza [Mammals of the Soviet Union],
which was the main driving force in the rest of his life. He understood
this well, considering such a work his duty, requiring even partial denial
of personal plans, including his dream project Obshchaya Zoogeografiya
[General Zoogeography], for which he constantly selected new
literature.
The Mammals..., right from the outset, was a collective work. The
publication began with the group—the ungulates—which S.I. Ognev
had not touched upon. Thus the Mammals... successfully combined, on
the one hand, absolutely new material and, on the other, a continuation
of the Animals... of S.I. Ognev. In 1961, the first volume on Artiodactyla
and Perissodactyla was published; in 1966 it was translated into German
in East Germany and in 1988 into English in India. In 1968, Vol. II, Part
1—Sea Cows and Carnivores (German translation published in 1974),
Part 2—Hyaenas and Cats was published in 1972 (translated into
German), and Part 3—Pinnipeds and Toothed Whales was published
just after V.G.’s death in 1976.
Work on the Mammals... did not affect the intensity of annual
publication of V.G. To a certain extent it was an additional source of
new problems as these cropped up in the course of working on the book.
Solutions to these problems were the subject of independent papers. At
the same time, the list of published works in these years continues to
reflect the breadth of interest and diversity of subjects on which he
wrote. The overall number of publications per year remained at the level
of six to eight (1974—10) and in 1975, the year of his death, five.
Publication of papers continued into 1976 and even later. Thus the
unexpected sickness and death of V.G. literally undercut the climax of
his works.
Predominantly sedentary work from the 1950s did not dampen V.G.’s
characteristic craving for expeditions and attraction for nature; rather, it
intensified in the last decade of his life. Thus in 1967, after a gap of 19
years, V.G. participated in a month-long expedition with an assistant
from the Zoological Museum of the biological faculty and antiplague
worker in Armenia. He took part in conferences and congresses in order
to visit Khabarovsk Territory and the vicinity of Vladivostok. And, of
course, he always craved for Badkhyz. He again visited there in 1962,
although not for long.
From the second half of the 1950s, with slackening in isolation of the
country from the rest of the world, our scientists began going abroad on

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scientific deputations and scientific-tourist voyages. V.G. also was

invited a number of times. In those years documentation for visits
abroad was a complicated bureaucratic procedure and it passed through
the multistage party control and, further, overseen by the KGB. His
German origin continued to be a jeopardy. After several unsuccessful
attempts at such formalities, finally in 1965, V.G. was allowed to visit
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and then Switzerland (1966), Poland
(1967), and France (1968)—strictly in the line of work. As a scientist of
world fame, among other foreign scientific societies V.G. was made a
member of the German Society for the Study of Mammals. However, it
is characteristic that despite repeated invitations from the society and
the most favorable conditions offered to him, V.G. was never permitted
12 to attend the congresses and meetings of this society in whichever
country they were held, least of all East Germany and West Germany
(different countries in those days). From the spring of 1964 to 1973, there
were six such invitations for which he underwent all the formalities but
was refused permission to attend.*
In concluding this brief biographic account it is necessary to
emphasize that for V.G. life was never easy nor smooth. Fate often dealt
him one blow after another and he had to have stamina and fortitude to
overcome them, maintaining his working capacity and steady scientific
productivity despite outwardly hostile situations, even the serious
illness that bested him in the last year of his life, did not outwardly
affect the work he completed during this period. Undoubtedly the
fountainhead in which V.G. searched for new strength was his
tremendous intellectual curiosity, vocation in zoology, and love for
science and Moscow University. Science to him was the main purpose
of life and in this regard it is characteristic that he was completely
indifferent to career prospects, a desire to control people or office, a
desire to occupy any glorious or prestigious post. Not that such
opportunities did not come his way. Thus, in 1958, after the death of the
leader of St. Petersburg mammalogy, Professor B.S. Vinogradov,
Director of the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the
USSR, Academician E.N. Pavlovskii proposed that V.G. head the
mammalogy division of the institute. The offer included an independent
flat for the family in St. Petersburg (in Moscow the family lived in a
shared accommodation with no prospects for betterment) and for V.G.
himself, besides the particular prestige of the place and absence of a
specific teaching load, guaranteed a quick ascent to an academician’s
chair. There were no prolonged deliberations; in his reply V.G., with
scrupulous observance of all norms of courtesy, refused this most
attractive offer because of Moscow commitments: “I am bound to it
*1st Ther. Congr. in Moscow.

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[Moscow] by my family responsibilities and almost forty years’

connection with Moscow University and its zoological museum,” he
wrote E.N. Pavlovskii on November 19, 1958.
It is difficult to imagine the scientific career of V.G. without the
constant unobtrusive but in reality invaluable and selfless help of his
wife, Nina Sergeevna. Without exaggeration it may be said that after his
marriage, in some form or the other she became a participant in
practically all of his scientific attainments and success. V.G. had a very
specific, very bold, but at the same time unique handwriting which
typists could not decipher. Nina Sergeevna, a professional typist before
marriage, became his constant secretary-cum-typist, typing up
everything written by V.G. on other people’s typewriter. Later, after
publication of the General Zoogeography it became possible to finally own
a typewriter. The honorarium from the book was spent entirely on the
purchase of a Remington portable typewriter, on which the manuscript
of the first volume of the Mammals... and many other works were typed.
Even now this typewriter continues to serve the second generation in
the family. Besides secretarial help, Nina Sergeevna managed the entire
household and carried most of the load of educating and raising her son.
It may also be said, without exaggeration, that thanks to her constant
care, with no days off or leave, V.G. freed of household problems, could
perform his duties as a zoologist and a truly great scientist.

May-June, 1992 M.V. Heptner

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 13 ORDER OF CETACEANS
C E T A C E A BRISSON, 1762
Cetaceans are specialized mammals, excellently adapted to
permanent life in water.
The body size of these animals varies from medium to the largest
among all mammals, ranging from 11 [1.1] to 33 m in length and 30 kg
to 150 ton in weight. In most species the body is long, torpedolike,
streamlined during movement in the aquatic medium, and with a
horizontal bilobate caudal fin [flukes].
The animals lack a thick hair cover; their color is determined by
pigmentation of the skin. In whales belonging to the suborder of baleen
whales, isolated bristlelike sensory hairs—whiskers—occur on the
muzzle, their bases being provided with numerous nerve terminals. In
most species of the suborder of toothed whales, whiskers are present
only in the embryos. [Whiskers are now known to be present in all
whales—ed.].
The forelimbs in cetaceans are modified into unique pectoral fins of
the flipper type, which perform the function of a rudder for changing
depth or direction of swimming. The hind limbs are reduced, but at the
end of the thickened caudal peduncle there are paired, boneless,
horizontal caudal flukes that serve as organs of locomotion. Most
species have a boneless dorsal fin that works as a stabilizer.
The head is massive, sometimes reaching almost one-fifth of body
length. The anterior part (muzzle) is blunt or elongate; in some species
it terminates in a long snout. There is no visible constriction of the neck;
the body gradually narrows down and ends in the caudal peduncle that
is flattened on the sides. The skull is often symmetric; if asymmetric, the
expanded bones of the right side are displaced to the left and the bones
of the left side are thickened. Teeth are present in adult animals only in
cetaceans of the suborder of toothed whales. They are homodont and
perform only the functions of seizure, holding and killing the prey. In
cetaceans of the suborder of baleen whales, teeth are present only in the
embryo and are wholly resorbed during embryonic development. In
adult cetaceans these are functionally substituted by special oral
structures—plates consisting of whalebone or baleen. Their foundation
is laid in the embryonic period of development (by the time the teeth are
resorbed). These plates are triangular, close-set and disposed on both
sides of just the upper jaw; there is no baleen on the lower jaw. The
inner part of each plate (the hypotenuse of a triangle) is split into fibers
that form a tomentose layer in the mouth cavity, which serves as a
specific filtering or straining apparatus to ensure filtration and straining

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of small planktonic organisms—the main food of the cetaceans. Soft lips

are absent. The tongue is well developed.
The skeletal bones in most species are spongy in consistency and
entirely filled with a large quantity of fat. The forelimbs are well
developed and flattened. The clavicle is absent. Formation of the hind
limbs begins in the embryonic period of development, but they soon
disappear. Very rare cases of retention in adult cetaceans of the outward
projecting rudiments of hind limbs have been noted; usually only the
rudiment of a pelvis remains embedded in the musculature.
The eyes of cetaceans are small, eyelids absent, and the crystalline
lens is spherical. Vision is apparently monocular. Tear glands are absent.
14 In all cetaceans of the suborder of baleen whales (but only in some
toothed whales) a relatively small number of whiskers function as
sensory organs; these are located on the muzzle (rarely on the trunk).
External auditory conchae [external ears] are absent. The auditory
meatus opens on the outer side behind the eyes. It is firmly closed by the
“earplug,” lamellar in structure and consisting of a keratinized
epithelium and cerumen.
The nostrils (blowholes) in cetaceans of the suborder of toothed
whales are unpaired (only one nostril) while in the suborder of baleen
whales they are paired (two nostrils). They are located on the upper side
of the head. In cetaceans the trachea and bronchi are reduced, which
accelerates the act of respiration. The single-lobed lungs are very
voluminous and equipped with strongly developed smooth
musculature. Cetaceans can remain underwater for 10-20 (sometimes
30-40) minutes without breathing. Some species (sperm whales) can dive
considerably deeper, remaining underwater for an hour or longer.
The kidneys of cetaceans are multilobular and relatively large
compared to the same in land mammals, but their concentrating
capacity is not sufficient to extract freshwater from the ingested sea
water. Apparently whales do not drink sea water; they obtain the
required fresh water from the food they eat.
The stomach of cetaceans is complex and consists of 3-14 sections.
The act of mastication of food is lost. The intestine is of variable length:
in baleen whales it is five to six times as long as the body while in the
sperm whale and bottlenosed dolphin it is 15 to 16 times as long. The
liver is relatively small, the gall bladder is absent. The pancreas is long
and weakly lobular.
The testes are located in the abdominal cavity. The penis is long and
at rest lies in a special sheath; an os penis is absent. The ovaries of the
female lie in the body cavity. The uterus is two-horned. In female
whales of the subfamily of baleen whales the genital and anal openings
are located at a considerable distance from each other while in toothed

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whales they are located in a single depression and are surrounded by

the common sphincter. After fertilization, a corpora luteum [yellow
body] is formed on the ovaries, which is later resorbed but its scar
remains for a long time (possibly a lifetime). By counting such traces of
corpora lutea it is possible to determine the age of the female.
The body temperature of cetaceans is close to that of land mammals,
i.e., 34-40° C. It is maintained by the presence of a thick layer of
subcutaneous fat (blubber). The temperature of the outer layers of the
body is closer to the temperature of the surrounding medium.
Cetaceans give birth to young under water. The calves are very large
when born (one-fourth to half the mother’s length), fully developed,
with body proportions close to those of the adult animals, and soon after
birth are capable of moving freely in the water. The young are also fed
also underwater. The calf holds onto the mother’s nipple which with
contraction of special muscles sprays milk into its mouth. There are two
mammary glands; the nipples are located in special folds on both sides
of the genital opening. The female suckles the young for a short while
but often. The milk is thick and fat rich (does not mix immediately in
water). Females produce a large quantity of milk; in dolphins 1,200 g, in
large whales 100 and even 200 liters per day. During the period of
suckling the young grow fast. Thus the mean daily growth of young
whales is 4.5 cm; in the first seven months of life the calf grows from 7
to 16 m.
Sexual dimorphism is manifest in cetaceans primarily in the size
(body length) of males and females; in whales of the subfamily of baleen
whales, the females are much larger than males, while in toothed whales
the males are larger than females.
Feeding in most cetaceans is highly specialized. They are
differentiated into planktophagous, ichthyophagous, teuthophagous
and sarcophagous.
Most species of cetaceans are in the category of periodically
migrating animals. In some instances migration is very short (within the
Black Sea or Azov Sea), in others it may extend a long distance (from
equatorial and temperate waters to the high latitudes of the Northern
and Southern hemispheres).
15 Among the various species of cetaceans monogamy is predominant.
Females bear usually one, less often two, and occasionally three calves.
The periods of mating and calving extend over several months.
Practically all species of whales are infected by endo- and
ectoparasites.
Cetaceans are very widely distributed and inhabit waters of
practically all the world oceans, living mostly in the deep (sometimes

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shallow) seas of the world. Some of them move in definite seasons of the
year to the lower reaches of large rivers over a long distance and
individual species of dolphins constantly live in fresh waters. Some
species have restricted ranges while others are widely distributed—from
warm waters to the higher latitudes of all the oceans.
Most cetaceans live in the surface waters of the oceans and only some
of them (sperm whales) may descend to relatively greater depths.
All whales are gregarious animals, forming herds of varying number,
from a few to several hundred and even thousands of animals. The
population of different species is not the same. Some species are rare,
down to occasional encounters with individual animals, while the
population of others may be several hundred thousand animals. In
recent times the population of many species is determined to a
considerable extent by human intervention and fishing activity.
Uncontrolled catching led to catastrophic decrease in the population of
several species and to introduction of a total ban on their fishing.
Their systematics have not been studied sufficiently. Usually the
order of cetaceans is divided into three suborders: the two extant—
toothed Odonteceti Flower, and baleen Mysticeti Flower and, one extinct
or fossil Archaeoceti Flower, 16 families (of these nine extinct), and 173
genera (137 fossil). There are 81 living species in the order (Hershkovitz,
1966). The suborder of fossil cetaceans includes three families and 14
genera (Simpson, 1945).
In our country [Russia] these animals represent six extant families, 19
genera, and 23 species (Tomilin, 1957).
The practical significance of many species of cetaceans is great but
unequal. Some have been the object of regular hunting over a long
period of time; others were caught in small numbers or casually with
other species.
Processing of caught whales has provided (from some even now) fat
(edible and technical grade), meat, and from their internal organs
valuable food, medicinal, and technical industrial products. The hides of
some species of toothed whales are used as raw material for making
leather goods.

KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SUBORDERS OF

CETACEANS
1(2). Teeth absent. Upper jaw with numerous horny plates forming
filtering apparatus. Nostrils paired. Skull symmetric, middle
sections of movably articulated halves of lower jaw stretched
outward. Only first pair of ribs articulated with the sternum ...
.............................. Suborder of baleen whales, Mysticeti (p. 19).

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2(1). Teeth present. Filtering apparatus absent. Nostril unpaired.

Skull in facial section asymmetric. Immovably articulated
halves of lower jaw straight or in middle section curved inward.
Not more than three pairs of ribs articulated with the sternum
..................................... Suborder of toothed whales, Odontoceti.
16 SUBORDER OF BALEEN OR TOOTHLESS WHALES
SUBORDER MYSTICETI FLOWER, 1864
Largest of the species in the order Cetacea. Most are reputed to be the
largest animals on the earth. Smaller members of the suborder are 6-10
m long and the largest 33 m. The females are larger than males. The
body of most species is long, torpedolike, and only in some is it
relatively short and thick. The head is huge and occupies one-fifth to
one-third of the body length. There is no neck constriction.
On rostrum and lower jaw of many species a large number of sensory
hairs occur, that are more numerous in the embryos (Fig. 1). In the
follicle of one such hair there are up to 400 nerve endings. On the head
and abdomen of most species (excluding right whales) longitudinal
folds and furrows occur.

16 Fig. 1. Sensory hairs on head of fin whale (photo by A.V. Yablokov).

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The skin is moderately thick, or thick or very thick. In the epidermis

the longitudinal septa of cells are always pressed deeper in the dermis
than the transverse septa. The form of transverse epidermal cells is oval,
less often round. In the dermis the adipose cells are usually approximate
to the epidermis itself (sometimes there is a non-adipose zone). In it and
the subepidermal adipose cellular tissue, a very strongly developed
network of elastin fibers forming large fascicles is usually present.
The scapula is broad, without crests and lacks the clavicle (Fig. 2).
The sternum consists of one reduced bone; its form varies considerably
(Fig. 3). Only one (first) pair of ribs is articulated with the sternum.

1 2 3 4

7 8
5 6

17 Fig. 2. Scapula of baleen whales (drawing by N.N. Kondakov).

1 — gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus; 2 — southern right whale, Eubalaena
glacialis; 3 — Greenland right whale, Balaena mysticetus; 4 — blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus; 5 — fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus; 6 — sei whale,
Balaenoptera borealis; 7 — lesser rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata; 8 —
humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae.

The skull is symmetrical. The cranium is relatively small in size,

round and reduced; the facial section is strongly extended due to the
growth of the maxillary and inter-maxillary bones and the bones of the
vomer. The palate is broad. The lower jaws are also extended, bowed
out, and meet anteriorly at a greater angle, articulated only by a
17 ligament, without a bony symphysis, and movable relative to each
other. The coronary process is well developed. The length of the lower
jaw measured from the side is not less than nine-tenths the length of the
skull. The nostrils are shifted far backward toward the parietal. The
nasal bones do not enter the cranial wall projecting forward slightly,

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2 3 4
1

5 6 7 8

17 Fig. 3. Sternum of baleen whales (drawing by N.N. Kondakov).

1 — gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus; 2 — southern right whale, Eubalaena
glacialis; 3 — Greenland right whale, Balaena mysticetus; 4 — blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus; 5 — fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus; 6 — sei whale,
Balaenoptera borealis; 7 — lesser rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata; 8 —
humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae.

they overlap the posterior margin of the nares. The external nares are
paired (Fig. 4). The orbital processes of the frontal bones are broad and
strongly developed. The maxillary bones only slightly cover their
anterior part. The lacrimal bone is rudimentary.

B
A

18 Fig. 4. Blowhole of baleen whale (fin whale) Balaenoptera physalus.

A — hole, open (photo by A.V. Yablokov); B — hole closed; C — general view
of the head (drawing by N.N. Kondakov).

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Teeth embedded in the gums are present only at the embryonic

18 stages; they do not erupt and are resorbed during embryonic
development. In adult animals a special filtering apparatus is formed in
the mouth cavity, which consists of a long row of horny plates called the
baleen, or whalebone or “mustache” (Fig. 5). The foundation of these
plates is laid in the embryonic period at the time of resorption of teeth.
These plates are located on both sides of the broadened upper jaw to the
right and left of the vomer in the plane perpendicular to its longitudinal
axis. In the lower jaw there are no plates. The short cathetus [the short
side of a right-angled triangle or base] of the triangular plate is fixed in
the gum and the larger side faces outward, while the hypotenuse faces
inside the mouth cavity. These plates lie rather close to each other, are
almost parallel, and resemble teeth of a comb. The inner margin of each
plate is split into fibers (of varying length and thickness in different
species) (Fig. 6), lying one over the other and intertwined, thereby
forming a dense sieve which acts as a filtering or straining apparatus
(Fig. 7).

3
2

19 Fig. 5.Schematic cross section of the head of a baleen whale (figure by

N.N. Kondakov) [after Slijper, 1957; Delage, 1886].
1 — upper jaw; 2 — baleen; 3 — palate; 4 — lower jaw; 5 — tongue.

The cartilaginous larynx is enlarged and firmly joined to the choana,

thereby separating the air passage from the pharynx. Whales can thus
freely open their jaws under water. The musculature of the alveolar sacs
of the lungs is strongly developed.
The auditory meatus is firmly closed by an “earplug” comprising
keratinized epithelium and cerumen (Fig. 8) and is lamellar in structure.
The structure of the olfactory chamber of baleen whales apparently
confirms its similar functional significance as in land mammals (Cave,
1944).
The diploid chromosome number is 42-44.

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20 Fig. 6. Baleen plates of whales (figure by N.N. Kondakov).

A — Southern right whale, Eubalaena glacialis; B — fin whale, Balaenoptera
physalus; C — gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus.

The animals are comparatively fast swimmers. They undertake

regular seasonal migrations over a large expanse from the region of
mating and birth (winter) to regions of summer foraging. Gestation lasts
about one year; with rare exceptions one calf is born. The animal feeds
mostly on planktonic invertebrates that form large concentrations, and
to a lesser extent on schooling fish, still rarely on benthic and demersal
organisms.

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20 Fig. 7. Fringe of the baleen plate of fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus

(photo by A.V. Yablokov).

20 Fig. 8. Earplug of fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus

(figure by N.N. Kondakov).
A — general appearance; B — longitudinal section.

Distribution is universal. They occupy in all oceans and open seas (in
closed seas—the Mediterranean, Kara, and Baltic) from polar to tropical
waters of the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Sexual dimorphism is well developed (in all species females, on the
average, are larger than males of the same age), which is already
manifested in the embryonic stage of development.
19 The character of changes, and disposition of, the skull bones in some
primitive toothed whales from the Upper Eocene and the Oligocene (for
example, in the Patriocetus) are similar in type to the disposition of these
bones in recent toothless whales, which points to their origin from the
former. Primitive toothless whales first appeared in the Oligocene. They
were common in the Miocene and remained in the Pliocene for some
time. In the Miocene two groups of modern, toothless whales—the
families of true baleen whales and right whales—separated from them.

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The suborder includes four families, of which one is extinct

(Cetotheriidae, more than 20 genera) and three extant families—gray
whales (Eschrichtiidae), baleen whales (Balaenopteridae), and right
whale (Balaenidae). Some authors (Smirnov, 1936; Chapskii, 1941;
Zenkovich, 1952) consider them subfamilies of a single family of the
suborder Balaenidae, which is incorrect and presently not accepted.
The suborder combines nine extant genera, six of which are widely
distributed in both hemispheres, one (Greenland right whale) inhabits
cold waters only of the Northern Hemisphere, another (gray whale) is
endemic to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, and another two are
found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Northern
Hemisphere only in the warm zone.
All species constituting this suborder, except the dwarf whale
(Neobalaena-Caperea), are potentially valuable commercial animals
capable of providing a large number of useful products. The blubber is
used in medicine, food, and other industries. The meat may be used for
processing fodder meal and fertilizer as well as a food product. The liver
of many species contains a large quantity of vitamin A; the endocrine
glands may provide raw material for manufacturing medicinal
preparations.
Uncontrolled killing of baleen whales has led not only to an alarming
reduction in their number, but has put them at the threshold of a
catastrophe—almost total extinction. All species of baleen whales have
been included in the Red Data Book of the IUCN and in Appendix I of
the Convention of International Trade in Species of the Wild Fauna and
Flora, under the threat of extinction. In several countries, killing of some
baleen whales still continues mainly for the need of the local population.
The fauna of our country includes all the three families in the seas of
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Only two of the 10 species (Bryde’s
whale—Balaenoptera edeni and dwarf whale—Caperea) have not been
recorded in our waters but one cannot rule out the possibility of their
presence near the southern islands of the Kuril chain.
Baleen whales are a progressive group of animals, that are very well
adapted by the process of evolution to the aquatic mode of life. A
unique characteristic is their adaptation to feeding on very small
organisms, for which a filtering apparatus has evolved in them.
21 KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF FAMILIES OF THE
SUBORDER OF BALEEN WHALES
1(4). Longitudinal furrows and folds present on the ventral side.
Dorsal fin present, well developed or in some species as a short
crest. Head less than one-fourth length of body. Fringe of
baleen plates coarse and thick (Fig. 8 [7]) ................................ 2.

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2(3). Not more than four longitudinal furrows on the neck. Dorsal fin
weakly developed as low hump flattened on sides. Spots of
varying shades and form scattered on the general background,
blackish-brown or grayish-brown. Baleen plates not more than
40 cm height ....... Family of gray whales, Eschrichtiidae (p. 26).
The family is monotypic with one genus (Eschrichtius) and one
species of gray whales (E. robustus).
3(2). More than 11 longitudinal furrows and folds present on the
neck and chest. Dorsal fin well developed. Body
monochromatic. Baleen plates up to 1.3 m in height
................................ Family of rorquals, Balaenopteridae (p. 61).
4(1). Longitudinal furrows and folds absent on ventral side. Dorsal
fin absent. Head more than one-fourth length of the body.
Fringe of baleen plates fine and soft ....................................
.................................. Family of right whales, Balaenidae (p. 232).

FAMILY OF GRAY WHALES

Family ESCHRICHTIIDAE Weber, 1904
Whales of medium size (maximum length 15-16 m). The body is
round in cross section in the anterior part. It is flattened on the sides in
the posterior part (particularly in the tail region). The skin is smooth on
the back, sides and in the belly area; there are two to four deep furrows
on the neck, divergent behind at a small angle. The pectoral fins are
short, moderately wide, more expanded and obtuse than in rorquals but
narrower and pointed than in right whales. The dorsal fin is absent;
there is only an inconspicuous hump flattened on the sides; behind it, on
the crest of the caudal peduncle, lie several small low tubercles. The
caudal fin is wide. The subcutaneous fat layer is thick (often up to
20 cm).
The skeleton of the pectoral fins is tetradactyl. The scapula bears the
coracoid and acromion processes. In relation to overall body length, the
neck section is more strongly developed than in all the remaining baleen
whales. All seven cervical vertebrae are free.
The rostrum is moderately narrow but weakly expanded in sagittal
plane. The nasal bones are large, long, and set in a line connecting the
orbits. The frontal bone at the roof of the skeleton separates the posterior
ends of the nasal bones from the anterior projection of the supraoccipital
bone by a wide margin. The proximal end of the intermaxillary bone is
relatively broad and many times as wide as the neighboring frontonasal
process of the maxillary bone. The surface of the supraoccipital bone is
sharply rugose. The tympanic bones are laterally compressed and have

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a concave inner margin. The lower jaw is heavy, relatively short and
broad in a lateral view. The contour of the lower margin is almost
straight and that of the upper arcuate. The coronary process is not
developed.
The baleen plates are low, thick, and with coarse hard bristles. The
plates are divided in the anterior part of the snout. The mouth cavity is
narrow.
The general color tone varies from blackish-brown to grayish-brown
with numerous lighter spots scattered all over the body (Smirnov, 1935;
Tomilin, 1957).
The diploid chromosome number is 44.
These animals generally live in the coastal shallow waters of the sea
and belong to the benthophagous group since they feed on benthic and
demersal invertebrates. They inhabit the northern part of the Pacific
22 Ocean including the East China Sea, Sea of Japan and the Okhotsk,
Bering, and Chukchi seas. They are also found in European waters of the
North Atlantic Ocean, including the Baltic Sea (at present extinct there).1
Gray whales are the most primitive baleen whales. They apparently
evolved in the family Balaenopteridae in the Miocene (Romer, 1939). As
to when they separated from the rorquals and formed an independent
group has not been clearly established. Fossil remains of gray whales,
excluding the subfossils in Europe, have not been reported.
The family is of practical significance only to the local population of
the Chukchi Peninsula and Alaska because in view of their small
number, killing these whales is permissible only for the local population.
The family is monotypic with one genus Eschrichtius Gray and one
species E. robustus Lillijeborg.

Genus of Gray Whales

Genus Eschrichtius Gray, 1864
1864. Eschrichtius Gray, Ann. Med. Nat. Hist. ser. 3, V. 14, p. 350.
Balaenoptera robusta Lillijeborg = Balaena gibbosa Erxleben.
1868. Agaphelus Cope, Proc. Ac. Sc. Philadelphia, 20, p. 159. Balaena
gibbosa Erxl.

1
Gray whales are supposed to have lived along the European coasts of the North
Atlantic Ocean to the end of the 17th century, possibly the beginning of the 18th
century, while according to other data only to the 12th century (Litke, 1974). Remains
of these whales are known from the coasts of England (Devonshire) and Sweden
(Baltic Sea). There is no information about their presence at the coasts of America. It
is presumed that they were found here in the 17th century. Due to their behavior they
were easy targets for whalers using the most primitive means. They were possibly
simply exterminated, partly by trappers in the Baltic Sea where whaling has been in
vogue since very early times.

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1869. Rhachianectes Cope, Proc. Acad. Sc. Philadelphia, 21, p. 15,

Agaphelus glaucus Cope = Balaena gibbosa Erxleben (cf.
characterization of the family).
GRAY WHALE
Eschrichtius robustus Lilljeborg, 1861
1777. Balaena gibbosa Erxleben, Syst. regni, p. 610, North Atlantic.
1777. Eschrichtius gibbosus Erxleben.
1861. Balaenoptera robusta Lilljeborg, Forh. Scand. Naturf. 1860, 8, p.
602, Sweden, subfossil remains.
1868. Agaphelus glaucus Cope, Proc. Acad. Sc. Philadelphia. 20, p. 160,
225, Monterey Bay, California 1.
Diagnosis
Only species of the genus.
Description
The body is relatively well proportioned but short, almost round in
the forepart and laterally compressed in the hind part (Fig. 9). The
contour of the upper side of the trunk is more convex than the lower.

23 Fig. 9. Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus (figure by N.N. Kondakov).

The head is comparatively small, occupies only 20% of the body

length; it is convex in the region of the rostrum (in lateral view) with a
high longitudinal crest formed by the maxillary and intermaxillary
bones. The paired nostrils are situated in a small depression behind the
23 rostral crest and anterior to the line of the transverse section through
both eyes. The blowholes, up to 25 cm long, converge to 7 cm in the
anterior part and diverge to 23 cm apart in the posterior part. The neck
and chin do not protrude and therefore the contour of the lower side of
the body is less convex than the upper. The eye socket, up to 5 cm long

1
The name Balaena agamachschik Pallas (Zoogeographia, 1811), mentioned by A.G.
Tomilin (1957) lacks nomenclatural significance. Pallas mentions the word
“amagachschik” (p. 289) as a local name in the Aleutian language.

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in adult whales, is located at an angle to the mouth. The pupil is oval,

10 mm high, and 6 mm wide. The eyelids above and below are restricted
by two semicircular furrows. The ear opening is slitlike, up to 10 cm
[mm] long, situated 50 to 60 cm behind the eyes and a few centimeters
below their level.
On the head and lower jaw occur up to 200 (sometimes more) light
gray, 2-3 cm long hairs. These are arranged in more or less longitudinal
rows on both sides of the lower jaw from the end of the upper jaw
backward, but they never cross the line of the blowholes. In adult
whales the vibrissae (whiskers) are more often hidden under layers of
skin parasites (barnacles and whale lice). In fetuses not having such
epigrowths, the number of vibrissae can easily be counted. On the head
of fetuses their average number is 131 in males and 155 in females.
Moreover, many vibrissae occur on the chin. In male 117 to 165 (average
141), in the female fetuses 100 to 172 (average 131). The total, number
of vibrissae on the head and chin varies from 204 to 346 (average 279)
(Zimushko and Ivashin, 1980).
The mouth cavity is narrow, its opening laterally describes a weak
bend upward but at the end it sharply bends down. The lower jaw has
a carinate projection in front, is wide and massive, and in a closed
mouth does not project beyond the end of the rostrum. The palate is
broad and white.
The rows of baleen plates on the upper jaw begin to recede from the
end of the nose. Both rows are completely separated from each other
without gaps between them. The length of the row constitutes 16-18% of
the body length.
The plates are monochromatic, white or yellowish, thick, coarse, not
elastic and discrete. The length of the longest plates (at the beginning of
the second half of the row) from the surface of the gums is 30-40 cm. The
bristles are thick, coarse, about 20 cm or more long. Each row has 130
to 180 (average 160) plates (Nemoto, 1959). In adult whales the plates
are strongly abraded; about half the plates of the anterior part of the
baleen were almost completely worn out and the largest plate was only
14 cm high (Zimushko and Ivashin, 1980).
The belly is smooth, without stripes and furrows, but there are two or
four deep and wide furrows on the neck (Fig. 10).
The pectoral fins are comparatively broad and obtuse, two-fifths to
half as wide as long (Fig. 11). The dorsal fin is absent. In its place, most
often above the anal opening, occurs a weakly developed low hump, the
length of its base being about 40 cm and height only a few centimeters.
Behind the hump, along the rest of the caudal peduncle there are 6 to 14
low tubercles of unique shape almost extended up to the caudal lobes;

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 30

24 Fig. 10. Furrows on the neck of gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus

(figure by N.N. Kondakov).

24 Fig. 11. Forelimb of gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus

(figure by N.N. Kondakov).

the flukes are broad, each lobe separately (in shape) resembling the
pectoral fin. Their hind margin is undulate and strongly thickened. The
span of the flukes is almost one-fourth the body length.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 31

The subcutaneous fat layer varies in thickness from 10 to 20 cm

(average 12.6 cm). The subcutaneous tissue is hard, pink, sometimes
25 reddish or almost white, with a large number of collagen fibres. The
tongue is thick, narrow, and more closely resembles the tongue of right
whales than baleen whales.
Light-colored spots of various forms (oval, round, semicircular) and
bright areas are scattered on the general blackish-brown or grayish-
brown background of the body. The head, back, neck, and upper and
lower crest of the caudal peduncle are dark slate-blue or black. On the
lower outer side of the snout with the narrow side of the plates of baleen
stretches, a pink or white band, 7-8 cm wide. The snout dorsally and
laterally, and the lower jaw and chin are covered with numerous lighter
spots and streaks. On the neck and sides, up to the line of the pectoral
fins, there are usually no markings, but farther backward, to the line of
intersection in the region of the anal opening, on the sides, chest and
belly, there are many spots with uneven margins. On the sides of the
caudal peduncle the spots are usually smaller and darker. The number,
shape, and the disposition of these spots are highly variable (described
from a whale of the Korean herd; Tomilin, 1957). It is presumed that the
spots on the body of gray whales result from the activity of barnacles
that attach to them, because such spots are absent on the fetuses.
Possibly, after the barnacles fall off, body pigmentation is restored,
otherwise almost the whole body of the whale would be absolutely
white.
The rostrum is comparatively long, convex on the crest; its width in
the middle section is one-seventh to one-sixth the skull length and at the
base almost one and one-half to two times the width in the middle
(Fig. 12). The frontonasal processes of the jaw bones are very narrow.
The proximal ends of the intermaxillary bones are wide and
considerably separated from the top of the skull. Large nasal bones lie
between them. In adult whales the tympanic bones are relatively small,
98-121 mm long, 67-80 mm wide, and 53-59 mm high (Tomilin, 1957).
The lower jaw is massive. The condylobasal length of the skull is 245-260
cm. The rostrum is two and one-half to three as long as wide at the base
of the skull and less than 75% of the condylobasal length (Chapskii,
1963).
Vertebrae 56. The cervical section occupies 4.2% of the whole
vertebral column. All seven vertebrae of this section are free, which
ensures much greater movability of the head. Ribs 14 pairs, relatively
massive; the fifth pair is the longest (up to 180 cm). The form of the
sternum variable, as far as to cruciform. The scapula has a uniformly
convex upper margin; it is less than one and one-half times as high as

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 32

24 Fig. 12. Skull of gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus

(figure by N.N. Kondakov) [dorsal view].

wide. The fifth [sic] digit is missing in the skeleton of the pectoral fin.
Phalangeal formula: II 3 , III3 , IV4 , V1 (Tomilin, 1957).
The average length of males is 11.3 to 11.9 m, females 11.9-12.6 m.
The largest male was found to be 14.3 m long and the largest female
15 m.
Long shoulder bone, large pelvic bones, wrinkled surface of all bones
of the skeleton, abundance of hairs, and some other features confirm the
primitiveness of gray whales.
Geographic Distribution
The range of the gray whale is confined to the northern half of the
Pacific Ocean. Up to the beginning of the 18th century, it also inhabited
the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Baltic Sea, which is confirmed
by remains found on the coast of Sweden (Gräsö Island) and on the

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 33

Åland Islands. However, complete information about the past

distribution and the number of these whales in the Atlantic Ocean is not
available. It is presumed that in the interglacial period, during the
warming of the Arctic, gray whales entered the Atlantic Ocean from the
Pacific through Arctic seas (Gilmore, 1955).
The range in our country includes the coastal waters of the Sea of
Japan, La Perouse[Soya] and Tatar straits, waters of the Kuril Islands,
Sea of Okhotsk (eastern coast of Sakhalin, continental coastal waters up
to Shelikhov Gulf, western coast of Kamchatka) (Fig. 13). It also includes
the coastal waters of the northern part of Kamchatka, the Koryak coast,
Gulf of Andyr in the Bering Sea, the Bering Strait, and waters of the
Chukchi Sea, possibly up to Wrangel Island.
The western boundary of distribution of gray whales in the Chukchi
27 Sea has expanded considerably in recent years (Berzin, 1984). These
whales began to be sighted in the East Siberian Sea along the edge of the
pack ice. The westernmost sighting of the gray whales has been
recorded at 178°30' E. Long. The latter report does not confirm the
suggestion of penetration of gray whales far in the north to Wrangel and
Herald Islands. The northernmost point of sighting of gray whales lies
in the center of the Chukchi Sea; in the western part—69°27' N. Lat. and
eastern part—72° N. Lat. In the Atlantic Ocean its range includes the
waters of the Baltic Sea in the north to the Gulf of Finland (including
Åland Island) (disappeared in the historic past).
The range outside Russia includes coastal waters of the Korean
Peninsula, Korean Strait, East China and Yellow seas (possibly not south
of 30° N. Lat.), and coastal waters of Japan (cf. Fig. 13). In the eastern
part of the Pacific Ocean the range extends from California waters
(25-30° N. Lat.) north along the entire coast of the USA (including
Alaska) and Canada to the Bering Strait, and waters of the eastern part
of the Chukchi Sea to Point Barrow in the east.
Semifossil remains of the Atlantic gray whales were found in five
localities on the coast of northwestern Europe: in England, the
Netherlands, and Sweden (Rice and Wolman, 1971). Some finds have
been dated to 500 years A.D. These whales possibly lived in summer in
the Baltic Sea, migrating in winter to the Atlantic and Mediterranean
coasts of southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.
Geographic Variation
Over the years, the species has formed two geographically isolated
populations with minor ranges and migration routes. Morphologically
distinct subspecies have not been segregated. However, certain reliable
differences between these populations do exist. For instance, the

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 34
26 Fig. 13. Range of gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus. Horizontal lines—present-day range, vertical lines—reconstructed
range; black spots—sites of semifossil remains of gray whales (V.A. Arsen’ev).

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 35

zoological* length of whales of the Chukchi-Californian population is

28 somewhat greater. The distance from tip of snout to anterior margin of
the pectoral fin and to the eyes, as also the width of the pectoral fins is
slightly more than in whales of the Okhotsk-Korean population. In the
latter, the baleen plates are longer, and their number in the row and the
number of furrows on the chin are less (Mizue, 1951; Zimushko and
Ivashin, 1980).
The Okhotsk-Korean population lives on the eastern coast of Asia
from the Korean Peninsula to the Sea of Okhotsk inclusively. Dispersals
of these whales are known to the southeastern coasts of Kamchatka.
Until the 20th century gray whales lived in the inner Sea of Japan
between the southern tip of Honshu Island, Kyushu and Shikoku
Islands and the Kii Peninsula. Here lies the region of whale calving,
from whence these animals migrated northward along the eastern coast
of Japan (Fig. 14). By the very beginning of the 20th century gray whales
had disappeared from these waters (Omura, 1974).

Is.
shu
Hon

ma
5

agu
chi ya 1
Waka
Yam 9
8
Is.
ku
4 iko 2
Sh
3
hu
Kyus

27 Fig. 14. Regions of breeding (dotted) and route of migration (arrows) of

the extinct “Japanese” population of gray whales. Black dots—whaling sites
(memorial marks) (from Omura, 1974).

*sic; the meaning of this is unclear.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 36

The Chukchi-Californian population inhabits the coastal waters of the

American continent in the Pacific Ocean, waters of the eastern and
northern part of the Bering Sea, and southern part of the Chukchi sea
where they could possibly reach 72° N. Lat. (Smirnov, 1935). Along the
Asiatic coasts from the northern part of the Bering Sea these whales
could descend south to the northern regions of Kamchatka (Ichihara,
1958).
Biology
Population. Indiscriminate hunting of the Okhotsk-Korean population
of gray whales by the thirties of this century led to such a state that now
throughout its range only individual animals and very rarely small
herds are sighted. The scanty population of the inner Sea of Japan has
been destroyed.
The initial number of gray whales of the Korean-Okhotsk population
was estimated to be approximately 1500, by the end of the 1980s it was
not more than 200 (Berzin and Vladimirov, 1988). The beginning of a
slow restoration of numbers is now perceptible (Berzin and Blokhin,
1986).
The number of whales in the Chukchi-Californian population at the
beginning of intensive whaling by the Europeans, according to various
estimates, was 30,000 to 40,000, or about 15,000 but never was it over
20th. head [sic].
The Chukchi-Californian population as a result of excessive whaling
was also reduced to such a low level that it had, probably, only a few
hundred whales. But timely conservational measures gradually saw an
increase in numbers, and by the end of the 1950s it was estimated to be
6,000 to 8,000 (Rice, 1961). Since some animals during migration along
the coast pass beyond the viewing range of coastal observation points,
it is presumed that their number ought to be higher (Rice, 1965).
Possibly, by the end of the 1960s, it reached about 18,000 head (Adams,
1968). As a result of the measures undertaken for the conservation and
strict regulation of hunting of whales, by 1975 the Chukchi-Californian
population of gray whales stabilized at the level of 10,000 to 12,000
(Berzin and Yablokov, 1978).
Estimates made around 1982 showed that the number of gray whales
in the summer feeding grounds in the Chukchi Sea reached about 10,000
spread over an area of 154,000 km 2 and 3,300 to 3,500 in the
northwestern and northern parts of the Bering Sea over an area of 48,000
km 2 (Berzin, 1984).
Habitat. In the period of summer foraging in the northern waters and
also during mating and calving in the south, gray whales inhabit coastal

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

 37

shallow waters, shallow water lagoons and inlets rich in benthic and
demersal in vertebrates. For whales of the Chukchi-Californian
population in our waters, such regions are the southern part of the
Chukchi Sea, the Bering Strait, Anadyr Gulf, and the Bering coast lying
south of it, right up to the Severnaya Glubokaya Inlet on the Koryak
coast (about 61° N. Lat.) with numerous lagoons and inlets. Even during
migration gray whales hold relatively close to the coast. They spend
winter months in the shallow-water lagoons of the Californian coast
where compact herds are sighted.
29 Observations from airplanes on gray whales in the northeastern part
of the Chukchi Sea from July to October 1982-1987 showed that of the
81 sightings of gray whales, 82% (n = 670) were in waters free of ice,
16% (n = 134) in waters with sparse ice (ice coverage less than 30%), and
2% (n = 17) in areas with continuous ice cover (ice cover 71-90%) (Clarke
et al., 1989). The depth at which gray whales were found varied from 5
to 64 m.
The distribution of gray whales in the Chukchi Sea confirms that they
are more inhabitants of shallow water than coastal waters (Berzin, 1984).
In the relatively shallow waters of the Chukchi Sea they were sighted up
to 180 km off the coast.
Whales of the Okhotsk-Korean population in winter months inhabit
the shallow water areas of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula
and in summer the coastal waters of many shoal waters of the Sea of
Okhotsk.
Food. Gray whales are typically benthophagous, obtaining their food
from the bottom. It has been established that they not only collect
benthic animals, but also actively loosen the sludge, hold it in their
mouth and strain it through the previously described filtering apparatus
to separate out the edible animals. This is confirmed by the presence of
a large number of pebbles in the stomachs of whales caught and various
injuries on the snout and lower jaw purportedly caused by “working”
the bottom. This is also indicated by the morphological peculiarities of
gray whales. Their lower jaws are very massive and heavy and the
anterior end has a keel-like crest which possibly replows the sludge. The
two rows of baleen plates in front of the snout are discrete and leave an
open passage in the mouth. The baleen plates are small, hard, with thick
bristles set at relatively greater distances between them (Fig. 15).
Underwater observations on a young female in captivity showed that
it swam in search of food usually at the bottom of the basin on sides
parallel to the bottom or at an angle of 120° (Ray and Shevill, 1974).
While opening the mouth, the whale, with the help of its tongue, sucks
in water along with sludge and food. Relaxing the muscles of the glottis

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 38

29 Fig. 15. Part of the head of a gray whale (figure by N.N. Kondakov).

and contracting the muscles of the tongue increases the capacity of the
mouth cavity. Removal of the water and sludge through the baleen
results from contraction of the muscles of the glottis and relaxation of
the muscles of the tongue; the volume of the mouth cavity thus
decreases. After this the food is gulped down.
During feeding gray whales leave unique longitudinal depressions on
the bottom indicating collection of food by them from the bottom while
swimming on their side (Nerini, 1984).
The first data on the food of gray whales were collected in the early
1930s by Zenkovich (1934, 1937), Tomilin (1937, 1954), Sleptsov (1952).
Later, Klumov (1963) compiled the first list of 17 species of animals, of
which the major food items of whales were several species of
30 amphipods (Ampelisca marocephala, Anonyx nugax, Pontoporeia femorata
femorata and others), polychaete worms—Travissa sp., Pectinaria sp.), and
mollusks (Buccinum).
In subsequent years, considerable attention was paid to analysis of
the food of gray whales. From 1965 to 1969, in the Anadyr Gulf, Bering
Strait, and Chukchi Sea, the stomachs of 70 gray whales (41 females and
29 males) were examined. Their stomach contents showed nearly 70
different species of invertebrates, among which amphipods again
predominated. The sand eel Ammodytes hexapterus (Pall.) was found
once (Zimushko and Lenskaya, 1970).

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 Another Random Document on
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Fig. 67., a larger teaser, which is introduced at the top of the furnace, for
keeping a complete supply of charcoal around the muffle.
Fig. 68., the tongs used for charging the assays into the cups.

Fig. 69. represents a board of wood used as a register, and is divided into 45
equal compartments, upon which the assays are placed previously to their being
introduced into the furnace. When the operation is performed, the cupels are
placed in the furnace in situations corresponding to these assays on the board.
By these means all confusion is avoided, and without this regularity it would be
impossible to preserve the accuracy which the delicate operations of the assayer
require.
I shall now proceed to a description of a small assay furnace, invented by
Messrs. Anfrye and d’Arcet, of Paris. They term it, Le Petit Fourneau à Coupelle.
Fig. 70. represents this furnace, and it is composed of a chimney or pipe of
wrought iron a, and of the furnace B. It is 171⁄2 inches high, and 71⁄4 inches
wide. The furnace is formed of three pieces; of a dome A; the body of the
furnace B; and the ash-pit C, which is used as the base of the furnace, fig. 70.
and 71. The principal piece, or body of the furnace, B, has the form of a hollow
tower, or of a hollow cylinder, flattened equally at the two opposite sides parallel
to the axis, in such a manner that the horizontal section is elliptical. The foot
which supports it is a hollow truncated cone, flattened in like manner upon the
two opposite sides, and having consequently for its basis two ellipses of
different diameters; the smallest ought to be equal to that of the furnace, so
that the bottom of the latter may exactly fit it. The dome, which forms an arch
above the furnace, has also its base elliptical, whilst that of the superior orifice
by which the smoke goes out preserves the cylindrical form. The tube of
wrought iron is 18 inches long and 21⁄2 inches diameter, having one of its ends a
little enlarged, and slightly conical, that it may be exactly fitted or jointed upon
the upper part of the furnace dome d, fig. 70. At the union of the conical and
cylindrical parts of the tube, there is placed a small gallery of iron, e, fig. 70, 71.
See also a plan of it, fig. 72. This gallery is both ingenious and useful. Upon it
are placed the cupels, which are thus annealed during the ordinary work of the
furnace, that they may be introduced into the muffle, when it is brought into its
proper degree of heat. A little above this gallery is a door f, by which, if thought
proper, the charcoal could be introduced into the furnace; above that there is
placed at g a throttle valve, which is used for regulating the draught of the
furnace at pleasure. Messrs. Anfrye and d’Arcet say, that, to give the furnace the
necessary degree of heat so as to work the assays of gold, the tube must be
about 18 inches above the gallery, for annealing or heating the cupels. The
circular opening h, in the dome, fig. 70., and as seen in the section, fig. 71., is
used to introduce the charcoal into the furnace: it is also used to inspect the
interior of the furnace, and to arrange the charcoal round the muffle. This
opening is kept shut during the working of the furnace, with the mouth-piece, of
which the face is seen at n, fig. 71.
The section of the furnace, fig. 71., presents several openings, the principal of
which is that of the muffle; it is placed at i; it is shut with the semicircular door
m, fig. 70., and seen in the section m, fig. 71. In front of this opening, is the
table or shelf, upon which the door of the muffle is made to advance or recede;
the letter q, fig. 71., shows the face, side, and cross section of the shelf, which
makes part of the furnace. Immediately under the shelf, is a horizontal slit, l,
which is pierced at the level of the upper part of the grate, and used for the
introduction of a slender rod of iron, that the grate may be easily kept clean.
This opening is shut at pleasure, by the wedge represented at k, fig. 70. and 71.
Upon the back of the furnace is a horizontal slit p, fig. 71, which supports the
fire-brick, s, and upon which the end of the muffle, if necessary, may rest; u,
fig. 71., is the opening in the furnace where the muffle is placed.

The plan of the grate of the furnace is an ellipse: fig. 73. is a horizontal view of
it. The dimensions of that ellipsis determine the general form of the furnace,
and thickness of the grate. To give strength and solidity to the grate, it is
encircled by a bar or hoop of iron. There is a groove in which the hoop of iron is
fixed. The holes of the grate are truncated cones, having the greater base
below, that the ashes may more easily fall into the ash-pit. The letter v, fig. 71.,
shows the form of these holes. The grate is supported by a small bank or shelf,
making part of the furnace, as seen at a, fig. 71.
The ash-pit, C, has an opening y in front, fig. 71.; and is shut when necessary
by the mouth-piece r, fig. 70. and 71.
To give strength and solidity to the furnace, it is bound with hoops of iron, at b,
b, b, b, fig. 70.

Figs. 74. 75. 76. are views of the muffle.

Fig. 77. is a view of a crucible for annealing gold.

Figs. 78. 79. 80. are cupels of various sizes, to be used in the furnace. They are
the same as those used by assayers in their ordinary furnaces.
Figs. 81. and 82. are views of the hand-shovels, used for filling the furnace with
charcoal; they should be made of such size and form as to fit the opening h, in
figs. 70. and 71.
The smaller pincers or tongs, by which the assays are charged into the cupels,
and by which the latter are withdrawn from the furnace, as well as the teaser
for cleaning the grate of the furnace, are similar to those used in the British
Mint.
In the furnace of the Mint above described, the number of assays that can be
made at one time, is 45. The same number of cupels are put into the muffle.
The furnace is then filled with charcoal to the top, and upon this are laid a few
pieces already ignited. In the course of three hours, a little more or less,
according to circumstances, the whole is ignited; during which period, the
muffle, which is made of fire-clay, is gradually heated to redness, and is
prevented from cracking; which a less regular or more sudden increase of
temperature would not fail to do: the cupels, also, become properly annealed.
All moisture being dispelled, they are in a fit state to receive the piece of silver
or gold to be assayed.
The greater care that is exercised in this operation, the less liable is the assayer
to accidents from the breaking of the muffle; which it is both expensive and
troublesome to fit properly into the furnace.
The cupels used in the assay process, are made of the ashes of burnt bones
(phosphate of lime). In the Royal Mint, the cores of ox-horn are selected for this
purpose; and the ashes produced are about four times the expense of the bone-
ash, used in the process of cupellation upon the large scale. So much depends
upon the accuracy of an assay of gold or silver, where a mass of 15lbs. troy in
the first, and 60lbs. troy in the second instance, is determined by the analysis of
a portion not exceeding 20 troy grains, that every precaution which the longest
experience has suggested, is used to obtain an accurate result. Hence the
attention paid to the selection of the most proper materials for making the
cupels.
The cupels are formed in a circular mould made of cast steel, very nicely turned,
by which means they are easily freed from the mould when struck. The bone-
ash is used moistened with a quantity of water, sufficient to make the particles
adhere firmly together. The circular mould is filled, and pressed level with its
surface; after which, a pestle or rammer, having its end nicely turned, of a
globular or convex shape, and of a size equal to the degree of concavity wished
to be made in the cupel for the reception of the assay, is placed upon the ashes
in the mould, and struck with a hammer until the cupel is properly formed.
These cupels are allowed to dry in the air for some time before they are used. If
the weather is fine, a fortnight will be sufficient.
An assay may prove defective for several reasons. Sometimes the button or
bead sends forth crystalline vegetations on its surface with such force, as to
make one suppose a portion of the silver may be thrown out of the cupel. When
the surface of the bead is dull and flat, the assay is considered to have been too
hot, and it indicates a loss of silver in fumes. When the tint of the bead is not
uniform, when its inferior surface is bubbly, when yellow scales of oxide of lead
remain on the bottom of the cupel, and the bead adheres strongly to it, by
these signs it is judged that the assay has been too cold, and that the silver
retains some lead.
Lastly, the assay is thought to be good if the bead is of a round form, if its
upper surface is brilliant, if its lower surface is granular and of a dead white, and
if it separates readily from the cupel.
After the lead is put into the cupel, it gets immediately covered with a coat of
oxide, which resists the admission of the silver to be assayed into the melted
metal; so that the alloy cannot form. When a bit of silver is laid on a lead bath
in this predicament, we see it swim about for a long time without dissolving. In
order to avoid this result, the silver is wrapped up in a bit of paper; and the
carburetted hydrogen generated by its combustion, reduces the film of the lead
oxide, gives the bath immediately a bright metallic lustre, and enables the two
metals readily to combine.
As the heat rises, the oxide of lead flows round about over the surface, till it is
absorbed by the cupel. When the lead is wasted to a certain degree, a very thin
film of it only remains on the silver, which causes the iridescent appearance, like
the colours of soap-bubbles; a phenomenon, called by the old chemists,
fulguration.
When the cupel cools in the progress of the assay, the oxygenation of the lead
ceases; and, instead of a very liquid vitreous oxide, an imperfectly melted oxide
is formed, which the cupel cannot absorb. To correct a cold assay, the
temperature of the furnace ought to be raised, and pieces of paper ought to be
put into the cupel, till the oxide of lead which adheres to it, be reduced. On
keeping up the heat, the assay will resume its ordinary train.
Pure silver almost always vegetates. Some traces of copper destroy this
property, which is obviously due to the oxygen which the silver can absorb while
it is in fusion, and which is disengaged the moment it solidifies. An excess of
lead, by removing all the copper at an early stage, tends to cause the
vegetation.
The brightening is caused by the heat evolved, when the button passes from
the liquid to the solid state. Many other substances present the same
phenomenon.
In the above operation it is necessary to employ lead which is very pure, or at
least free from silver. That kind is called poor lead.
It has been observed at all times, that the oxide of lead carries off with it, into
the cupel, a little silver in the state of an oxide. This effect becomes less, or
even disappears, when there is some copper remaining; and the more copper,
the less chance there is of any silver being lost. The loss of silver increases, on
the other hand, with the dose of lead. Hence the reason why it is so important
to proportion the lead with a precision which, at first sight, would appear to be
superfluous. Hence, also, the reason of the attempts which have, of late years,
been made to change the whole system of silver assays, and to have recourse
to a method exempt from the above causes of error.
M. d’Arcet, charged by the Commission of the Mint in Paris, to examine into the
justice of the reclamations made by the French silversmiths against the public
assays, ascertained that they were well founded; and that the results of
cupellation gave for the alloys between 897 and 903 thousandths (the limits of
their standard coin) an inferior standard, by from 4 to 5 thousandth parts, from
the standard or title which should result from the absolute or actual alloy.
The mode of assay shows, in fact, that an ingot, experimentally composed of
900 thousandths of fine silver, and 100 thousandths of copper, appears, by
cupellation, to be only, at the utmost, 896 or 897 thousandths; whereas fine
silver, of 1000 thousandths, comes out nearly of its real standard. Consequently
a director of the Mint, who should compound his alloy with fine silver, would be
obliged to employ 903 or 904 thousandths, in order that, by the assay in the
laboratory of the Mint, it should appear to have the standard of 900
thousandths. These 3 or 4 thousandths would be lost to him, since they would
be disguised by the mode of assay, the definitive criterion of the quantity of
silver, of which the government keeps count from the coiner of the money.
From experiments subsequently made by M. d’Arcet, it appears that silver
assays always suffer a loss of the precious metal, which varies, however, with
the standard of the alloy. It is 1 thousandth for fine silver,

4·3 thousandths for silver of 900 thousandths,

4·9 — for — of 800 —
4·2 — for — of 500 —
and diminishes thereafter, progressively, till the alloy contains only 100
thousandths of silver, at which point the loss is only 0·4.
Assays requested by the Commission of the Paris Mint, from the assayers of the
principal Royal Mints in Europe, to which the same alloys, synthetically
compounded, were sent, afforded the results inscribed in the following table.

Names of the Assayers. Cities where Standards found for

they reside. the Mathematical Alloys.
950 mill. 900 mill. 800 mill.
F. de Castenhole, Mint Assayer Vienna 946 ·20 898 ·40 795 ·10
A. R. Vervaëz, Ditto Madrid 944 ·40 893 ·70 789 ·20
D. M. Cabrera, Assayer in Spain Ditto 944 ·40 893 ·70 788 ·60
Assayer Amsterdam 947 ·00 895 ·00 795 ·00
Mr. Bingley, Assay Master London 946 ·25 896 ·25 794 ·25
Mr. Johnson, Assayer Ditto 933 ·33 883 ·50 783 ·33
Inspector of the Mint Utrecht 945 ·00 896 ·50 799 ·00
Assayer of the Mint Naples 945 ·00 891 ·00 787 ·00
Assayer of Trade Ditto 945 ·00 891 ·00 787 ·00
Assayer of the Mint Hamburgh 946 · ⁄72 897 · ⁄72 798 ·44⁄72
13 41

Ditto Altona 942 ·1⁄4 894 ·00 790

These results, as well as those in still greater numbers, obtained from the ablest
Parisian assayers, upon identical alloys of silver and copper, prove that the mode
of assay applied to them brings out the standard too low; and further, that the
quantity of silver masked or disguised, is not uniform for these different eminent
assay masters. An alloy, for example, at the standard of 900 thousandths is
judged at

M.
the Mint of Paris to have a standard of 895·6
At that of Vienna — 898·4
— Madrid — 893·7
— Naples — 891·0

The fact thus so clearly made out of a loss in the standard of silver bullion and
coin, merits the most serious attention; and it will appear astonishing, perhaps,
that a thing recurring every day, should have remained for so long a time in the
dark. In reality, however, the fact is not new; as the very numerous and well-
made experiments of Tillet from 1760 to 1763, which are related in the memoirs
of the Academy of Sciences, show, in the silver assays, a loss still greater than
that which was experienced lately in the laboratory of the Commission of the
French Mint. But he thought that, as the error was common to the nations in
general, it was not worth while or prudent to introduce any innovation.
A mode of assaying, to give, with certainty, the standard of silver bullion, should
be entirely independent of the variable circumstances of temperature, and the
unknown proportions of copper, so difficult to regulate by the mere judgment of
the senses. The process by the humid way, recommended by me to the Royal
Mint in 1829, and exhibited as to its principles before the Right Honourable John
Herries, then Master, in 1830, has all the precision and certainty we could wish.
It is founded on the well-known property which silver has, when dissolved in
nitric acid, to be precipitated in a chloride of silver quite insoluble, by a solution
of sea salt, or by muriatic acid; but, instead of determining the weight of the
chloride of silver, which would be somewhat uncertain and rather tedious, on
account of the difficulty of drying it, we take the quantity of the solution of sea
salt which has been necessary for the precipitation of the silver. To put the
process in execution, a liquor is prepared, composed of water and sea salt in
such proportions that 1000 measures of this liquor may precipitate, completely,
12 grains of silver, perfectly pure, or of the standard 1000, previously dissolved
in nitric acid. The liquor thus prepared, gives, immediately, the true standard of
any alloy whatever, of silver and copper, by the weight of it which may be
necessary to precipitate 12 grains of this alloy. If, for example 905 measures
have been required to precipitate the 12 grains of alloy, its standard would be
905 thousandths.
The process by the humid way is, so to speak, independent of the operator. The
manipulations are so easy; and the term of the operation is very distinctly
announced by the absence of any sensible nebulosities on the affusion of sea
salt into the silver solution, while there remains in it 1⁄2 thousandth of metal.
The process is not tedious, and in experienced hands it may rival the cupel in
rapidity; it has the advantage over the cupel of being more within the reach of
ordinary operators, and of not requiring a long apprenticeship. It is particularly
useful to such assayers as have only a few assays to make daily, as it will cost
them very little time and expense.
By agitating briskly during two minutes, or thereby, the liquid rendered milky by
the precipitation of the chloride of silver, it may be sufficiently clarified to enable
us to appreciate, after a few moments of repose, the disturbance that can be
produced in it by the addition of 1000 of a grain of silver. Filtration is more
efficacious than agitation, especially when it is employed afterwards; it may be
sometimes used; but agitation, which is much more prompt, is generally
sufficient. The presence of lead and copper, or any other metal, except mercury,
has no perceptible influence on the quantity of sea salt necessary to precipitate
the silver; that is to say, the same quantity of silver, pure or alloyed, requires for
its precipitation a constant quantity of the solution of sea salt.
Supposing that we operate upon a gramme of pure silver, the solution of sea
salt ought to be such that 100 centimetres cube may precipitate exactly the
whole silver. The standard of an alloy is given by the number of thousandths of
solution of sea salt necessary to precipitate the silver contained in a gramme of
the alloy.
When any mercury is accidentally present, which is, however, a rare occurrence,
it is made obvious by the precipitated chloride remaining white when exposed to
daylight, whereas when there is no mercury present, it becomes speedily first
grey and then purple. Silver so contaminated must be strongly ignited in fusion
before being assayed, and its loss of weight noted. In this case, a cupel assay
must be had recourse to.
Preparation of the Normal Solution of Sea Salt, when it is measured by Weight.
—Supposing the sea salt pure as well as the water, we have only to take these
two bodies in the proportion of 0·5427 k. of salt to 99·4573 k. of water, to have
100 k. of solution, of which 100 grammes will precipitate exactly one gramme of
silver. But instead of pure salt, which is to be procured with difficulty, and which
besides may be altered readily by absorbing the humidity of the air, a
concentrated solution of the sea salt of commerce is to be preferred, of which a
large quantity may be prepared at a time, to be kept in reserve for use, as it is
wanted. Instruction de Gay Lussac.
Preparation of the Normal Solution of Sea Salt, when measured by Volume.—
The measure by weight has the advantage of being independent of
temperature, of having the same degree of precision as the balance, and of
standing in need of no correction. The measure by volume has not all these
advantages; but, by giving it sufficient precision, it is more rapid, and is quite
sufficient for the numerous daily assays of the mint. This normal solution is so
made, that a volume equal to that of 100 grammes of water, or 100 centimetres
cube, at a determinate temperature, may precipitate exactly one gramme of
silver. The solution may be kept at a constant temperature, and in this case the
assay stands in want of no correction; or if its temperature be variable, the
assay must be corrected according to its influence. These two circumstances
make no change in the principle of the process, but they are sufficiently
important to occasion some modifications in the apparatus. Experience has
decided the preference in favour of applying a correction to a variable
temperature.
We readily obtain a volume of 100 cubic centimetres by means of a pipette, fig.
83., so gauged that when filled with water up to the mark a, b, and well dried at
its point, it will run out, at a continuous efflux, 100 grammes of water at the
temperature of 15 C. (59 Fah.). We say purposely at one efflux, because after
the cessation of the jet, the pipette may still furnish two or three drops of liquid,
which must not be counted or reckoned upon. The weight of the volume of the
normal solution, taken in this manner with suitable precautions, will be uniform
from one extreme to another, upon two centimetres and a half, at most, or to a
quarter of a thousandth, and the difference from the mean will be obviously
twice less, or one half. Let us indicate the most simple manner of taking a
measure of the normal solution of sea salt.

After having immersed the beak c of the pipette in the solution, we apply
suction by the mouth, to the upper orifice, and thereby raise the liquid to d
above the circular line a b. We next apply neatly the forefinger of one hand to
this orifice, remove the pipette from the liquid, and seize it as represented in fig.
84. The mark a b being placed at the level of the eye, we make the surface of
the solution become exactly a tangent to the plane a b. At the instant it
becomes a tangent, we leave the beak c of the pipette open, by taking away the
finger that had been applied to it, and without changing any thing else in the
position of the hands, we empty it into the bottle which should receive the
solution, taking care to remove it whenever the efflux has run out.
If after filling the pipette by suction, any one should find a difficulty in applying
the forefinger fast enough to the upper orifice, without letting the liquid run
down below the mark a b, he should remove the pipette from the solution with
its top still closed with his tongue, then apply the middle finger of one of his
hands to the lower orifice; after which he may withdraw his tongue, and apply
the forefinger of the other hand to the orifice previously wiped. This mode of
obtaining a measure of normal solution of sea salt is very simple, and requires
no complex apparatus; but we shall indicate another manipulation still easier,
and also more exact.
In this new process the pipette is filled from the top like a bottle, instead of
being filled by suction, and it is moreover fixed. Fig. 85. represents the
apparatus. D and D′ are two sockets separated by a stop cock R. The upper one,
tapped interiorly, receives, by means of a cork stopper L, the tube T, which
admits the solution of sea salt. The lower socket is cemented on to the pipette;
it bears a small air-cock R′, and a screw plug V, which regulates a minute
opening intended to let the air enter very slowly into the pipette. Below the
stop-cock R′, a silver tube N, of narrow diameter, soldered to the socket, leads
the solution into the pipette, by allowing the air, which it displaces, to escape by
the stop-cock R′. The screw plug, with the milled head V′, replaces the ordinary
screw by which the key of the stop-cock may be made to press, with more or
less force, upon its conical seat.
Fig. 86. represents, in a side view, the apparatus just described. We here
remark an air-cock R, and an opening m. At the extremity Q of the same figure,
the conical pipe T enters, with friction. It is by this pipe that the air is sucked
into the pipette, when it is to be filled from its beak.
The pipette is supported by two horizontal arms H K (fig. 87.) moveable about a
common axis A A, and capable of being drawn out or shortened by the aid of
two longitudinal slits. They are fixed steadily by two screw nuts e e′, and their
distance may be varied by means of round bits of wood or cork interposed, or
even by opposite screw nuts o o′. The upper arm H is pierced with a hole, in
which is fixed, by the pressure of a wooden screw v, the socket of the pipette.
The corresponding hole of the lower arm is larger; and the beak of the pipette is
supported in it by a cork stopper L. The apparatus is fixed by its tail-piece P, by
means of a screw to the corner of a wall, or any other prop.
The manner of filling the pipette is very simple. We begin by applying the fore-
finger of the left hand to the lower aperture c; we then open the two stop-cocks
R and R′. Whenever the liquor approaches the neck of the pipette, we must
temper its influx, and when it has arrived at some millimetres above the mark a
b, we close the two stop-cocks, and remove our forefinger. We have now
nothing more to do than to regulate the pipette; for which purpose the liquid
must touch the line a b, and must simply adhere externally to the beak of the
pipette.
This last circumstance is easily adjusted. After taking away the finger which
closed the aperture c of the pipette, we apply to this orifice a moist sponge m,
fig. 88., wrapped up in a linen rag, to absorb the superfluous liquor as it drops
out. This sponge is called the handkerchief (mouchoir), by M. Gay Lussac. The
pipette is said to be wiped when there is no liquor adhering to its point
exteriorly.
For the convenience of operating, the handkerchief is fixed by friction in a tube
of tin plate, terminated by a cup, open at bottom to let the droppings flow off
into the cistern C, to which the tube is soldered. It may be easily removed for
the purpose of washing it; and, if necessary, a little wedge of wood, o, can raise
it towards the pipette.
To complete the adjustment of the pipette, the liquid must be made merely to
descend to the mark a, b. With this view, and whilst the handkerchief is applied
to the beak of the pipette, the air must be allowed to enter very slowly by
unscrewing the plug V, fig. 85.; and at the moment of the contact the
handkerchief must be removed, and the bottle F, destined to receive the
solution, must be placed below the orifice of the pipette, fig. 88. As the motion
must be made rapidly, and without hesitation, the bottle is placed in a cylinder
of tin-plate, of a diameter somewhat greater, and forming one body with the
cistern and the handkerchief. The whole of this apparatus has for a basis a plate
of tinned iron, moveable between two wooden rulers R R, one of which bears a
groove, under which the edge of the plate slips. Its traverses are fixed by two
abutments b b, placed so that when it is stopped by one of them, the beak of
the pipette corresponds to the centre of the neck of the bottle, or is a tangent
to the handkerchief. This arrangement, very convenient for wiping the pipette
and emptying it, gives the apparatus sufficient solidity, and allows of its being
taken away, and replaced without deranging any thing. It is obvious that it is of
advantage, when once the entry of the air into the pipette has been regulated
by the screw V, to leave it constantly open, because the motion from the
handkerchief to the bottle is performed with sufficient rapidity to prevent a drop
of the solution from collecting and falling down.

Temperature of the Solution.—After having described the manner of measuring

by volume the normal solution of the sea salt, we shall indicate the most
convenient means of taking the temperature. The thermometer is placed in a
tube of glass T, fig. 89., which the solution traverses to arrive at the pipette. It is
suspended in it by a piece of cork, grooved on the four sides to afford passage
to the liquid. The scale is engraved upon the tube itself, and is repeated at the
opposite side, to fix the eye by the coincidence of this double division at the
level of the thermometric column. The tube is joined below to another narrower
one, through which it is attached by means of a cork stopper B, in the socket of
the stop-cock of the pipette. At its upper part it is cemented into a brass socket,
screw-tapped in the inside, which is connected in its turn by a cock, with the
extremity, also tapped, of the tube above T, belonging to the reservoir of the
normal solution. The corks employed here as connecting links between the parts
of the apparatus, give them a certain flexibility, and allow of their being
dismounted and remounted in a very short time; but it is indispensable to make
them be traversed by a hollow tube of glass or metal, which will hinder them
from being crushed by the pressure they are exposed to. If the precaution be
taken to grease them with a little suet and to fill their pores, they will suffer no
leakage.
Preservation of the Normal Solution of Sea Salt in metallic Vessels.—M. Gay
Lussac uses for this purpose a cylindrical vessel or drum of copper, of a capacity
of about 110 litres, having its inside covered with a rosin and wax cement.
Preparation of the Normal Solution of Sea Salt, measuring it by Volume.—If the
drum contains 110 litres, we should put only 105 into it, in order that sufficient
space may be left for agitating the liquor without throwing it out. According to
the principle that 100 centimetres cube, or 1⁄10 of a litre of the solution should
contain enough of sea salt to precipitate a gramme of pure silver; and,
admitting moreover, 13·516 for the prime equivalent of silver, and 7·335 for that
of sea salt, we shall find the quantity of pure salt that should be dissolved in the
105 litres of water, and which corresponds to 105 × 10 = 1050 grammes of
silver, to be by the following proportion:—
13·516 : 7·335 ∷ 1050 gramm. : x = 569·83 gr.

And as the solution of the sea salt of commerce, formerly mentioned, contains
approximately 250 grammes per kilogramme, we must take 2279·3 grammes of
this solution to have 569·83 gram. of salt. The mixture being perfectly made,
the tubes and the pipette must be several times washed by running the solution
through them, and putting it into the drum. The standard of the solution must
be determined after it has been well agitated, supposing the temperature to
remain uniform.
To arrive more conveniently at this result, we begin by preparing two decimes
solutions; one of silver, and another of sea salt.
The decime solution of silver is obtained by dissolving 1 gramme of silver in
nitric acid, and diluting the solution with water till its volume become a litre.
The decime solution of sea salt may be obtained by dissolving 0·543 grammes
of pure sea salt in water, so that the solution shall occupy a litre; but we shall
prepare it even with the normal solution which we wish to test, by mixing a
measure of it with 9 measures of water; it being understood that this solution is
not rigorously equivalent to that of silver, and that it will become so, only when
the normal solution employed for its preparation shall be finally of the true
standard. Lastly, we prepare beforehand several stoppered phials, in each of
which we dissolve 1 gramme of silver in 8 or 10 grammes of nitric acid. For
brevity’s sake we shall call these tests.
Now to investigate the standard of the normal solution, we must transfer a
pipette of it into one of these test phials; and we must agitate the liquors briskly
to clarify them. After some instants of repose, we must pour in 2 thousandths of
the decime solution of sea salt, which, we suppose, will produce a precipitate.
The normal liquor is consequently too feeble; and we should expect this, since
the sea salt employed was not perfectly pure. We agitate and add 2 fresh
thousandths, which will also produce a precipitate. We continue thus by
successive additions of 2 thousandths, till the last produces no precipitation.
Suppose that we have added 16 thousandths: the last two should not be
reckoned, as they produced no precipitate; the preceding two were necessary,
but only in part; that is to say, the useful thousandths added are above 12 and
below 14, or otherwise they are on an average equal to 13.
Thus, in the condition of the normal solution, we require 1013 parts of it to
precipitate one gramme of silver, while we should require only 1000. We shall
find the quantity of concentrated solution of sea salt that we should add, by
noting that the quantity of solution of sea salt, at first employed, viz. 2279·3
grammes, produced a standard of only 987 thousandths = 1000 - 13; and by
using the following proportion:
987 : 2279·3 ∷ 13 : x = 30·02 grammes.

This quantity of the strong solution of salt, mixed with the normal solution in the
drum, will correct its standard, and we shall now see by how much.
After having washed the tubes and the pipette, with the new solution, we must
repeat the experiment upon a fresh gramme of silver. We shall find, for
example, in proceeding only by a thousandth at a time, that the first causes a
precipitate, but not the second. The standard of the solution is still too weak,
and is comprised between 1000 and 1001; that is to say, it may be equal to
10001⁄2, but we must make a closer approximation.

We pour into the test bottle 2 thousandths of the decime solution of silver,
which will destroy, perceptibly, two thousandths of sea salt, and the operation
will have retrograded by two thousandths; that is to say, it will be brought back
to the point at which it was first of all. If, after having cleared up the liquor, we
add half a thousandth of the decime solution, there will necessarily be a
precipitate, as we knew beforehand, but a second will cause no turbidity. The
standard of the normal liquor will be consequently comprehended between 1000
and 10001⁄2, or equal to 10001⁄4.
We should rest content with this standard, but if we wish to correct it, we may
remark that the two quantities of solution of salt added, viz. 2279·3 gr. + 30·02
gr. = 2309·32 gr. have produced only 999·75 thousandths, and that we must
add a new quantity of it corresponding to 1⁄4 of a thousandth. We make,
therefore, the proportion
999·75 : 2309·32 ∷ 0·25 : x.

But since the first term differs very little from 1000, we may content ourselves
to have x by taking the 0·25⁄1000 of 2309·32, and we shall find 0·577 gr. for the
quantity of solution of sea salt to be added to the normal solution.
It is not convenient to take exactly so small a quantity of solution of sea salt by
the balance, but we shall succeed easily by the following process. We weigh 50
grammes of this solution, and we dilute it with water; so that it occupies exactly
half a litre, or 500 centimetres cube. A pipette of this solution, one centimetre
cube in volume, will give a decigramme of the primitive solution, and as such a
small pipette is divided into twenty drops, each drop, for example, will represent
5 milligrammes of the solution. We should arrive at quantities smaller still by
diluting the solution with a proper quantity of water; but greater precision would
be entirely needless.
The testing of the normal liquor just described, is, in reality, less tedious than
might be supposed. It deserves also to be remarked, that liquor has been
prepared for more than 1000 assays; and that, in preparing a fresh quantity, we
shall obtain directly its true standard, or nearly so, if we bear in mind the
quantities of water and solution of salt which had been employed.
Correction of the Standard of the Normal Solution of Sea Salt, when the
Temperature changes.—We have supposed, in determining the standard of the
normal solution of sea salt, that the temperature remained uniform. The assays
made in such circumstances, have no need of correction; but if the temperature
should change, the same measure of the solution will not contain the same
quantity of sea salt. Supposing that we have tested the solution of the salt at
the temperature of 15° C.; if, at the time of making the experiment, the
temperature is 18° C., for example, the solution will be too weak on account of
its expansion, and the pipette will contain less of it by weight; if, on the
contrary, the temperature has fallen to 12°, the solution will be thereby
concentrated and will prove too strong. It is therefore proper to determine the
correction necessary to be made, for any variation of temperature.
To ascertain this point, the temperature of the solution of sea salt was made
successively to be 0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30° C.; and three pipettes of
the solution were weighed exactly at each of these temperatures. The third of
these weighings gave the mean weight of a pipette. The corresponding weights
of a pipette of the solution, were afterwards graphically interpolated from
degree to degree. These weights form the second column of the following table,
intitled, Table of Correction for the Variations in the Temperature of the Normal
Solution of the Sea Salt. They enable us to correct any temperature between 0
and 30 degrees centigrade (32° and 86° Fahr.) when the solution of sea salt has
been prepared in the same limits.
Let us suppose, for example, that the solution has been made standard at 15°,
and that at the time of using it, the temperature has become 18°. We see by
the second column of the table, that the weight of a measure of the solution is
100·099 gr. at 15°, and 100·065 at 18°; the difference 0·034 gr., is the quantity
of solution less which has been really taken; and of course we must add it to
the normal measure, in order to make it equal to one thousand millièmes. If the
temperature of the solution had fallen to 10 degrees, the difference of the
weight of a measure from 10 to 15 degrees would be 0·019 gr. which we must
on the contrary deduct from the measure, since it had been taken too large.
These differences of weight of a measure of solution at 15°, from that of a
measure at any other temperature, form the column 15° of the table, where
they are expressed in thousandths; they are inscribed on the same horizontal
lines as the temperatures to which each of them relates with the sign + plus,
when they must be added, and with the sign - minus, when they must be
subtracted. The columns 5°, 10°, 20°, 25°, 35°, have been calculated in the
same manner for the cases in which the normal solution may have been
graduated to each of these temperatures. Thus, to calculate the column 10, the
number 100·118 has been taken of the column of weights for a term of
departure, and its difference from all the numbers of the same column has been
sought.
Table of Correction for the Variations in the Temperature of the Normal Solution
of the Sea Salt.

Tem- Weight. 5° 10° 15° 20° 25° 30°

pera-
ture.
gram. mill. mill. mill. mill. mill. mill.
4 100,109 0·0 - 0·1 + 0·1 + 0·7 + 1·7 + 2·7
5 100,113 0·0 - 0·1 + 0·1 + 0·7 + 1·7 + 2·8
6 100,115 0·0 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·7 + 2·8
7 110,118 + 0·1 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·7 + 2·8
8 100,120 + 0·1 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·8 + 2·8
9 100,120 + 0·1 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·8 + 2·8
10 100,118 + 0·1 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·7 + 2·8
11 100,116 0·0 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·7 + 2·8
 12 100,114 0·0 0·0 + 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·7 + 2·8
13 100,110 0·0 - 0·1 + 0·1 + 0·7 + 1·7 + 2·7
14 100,106 - 0·1 - 0·1 + 0·1 + 0·7 + 1·6 + 2·7
15 100,099 - 0·1 - 0·2 - 0·0 + 0·6 + 1·6 + 2·6
16 100,090 - 0·2 - 0·3 - 0·1 + 0·5 + 1·5 + 2·5
17 100,078 - 0·4 - 0·4 - 0·2 + 0·4 + 1·3 + 2·4
18 100,065 - 0·5 - 0·5 - 0·3 + 0·3 + 1·2 + 2·3
19 100,053 - 0·6 - 0·7 - 0·5 + 0·1 + 1·1 + 2·2
20 100,039 - 0·7 - 0·8 - 0·6 0·0 + 1·0 + 2·0
21 100,021 - 0·9 - 1·0 - 0·8 - 0·2 + 0·8 + 1·9
22 100,001 - 1·1 - 1·2 - 1·0 - 0·4 + 0·6 + 1·7
23 99,983 - 1·3 - 1·4 - 1·2 - 0·6 + 0·4 + 1·5
24 99,964 - 1·5 - 1·5 - 1·4 - 0·8 + 0·2 + 1·3
25 99,944 - 1·7 - 1·7 - 1·6 - 1·0 0·0 + 1·1
26 99,924 - 1·9 - 1·9 - 1·8 - 1·2 - 0·2 + 0·9
27 99,902 - 2·1 - 2·2 - 2·0 - 1·4 - 0·4 + 0·7
28 99,879 - 2·3 - 2·4 - 2·2 - 1·6 - 0·7 + 0·4
29 99,858 - 2·6 - 2·6 - 2·4 - 1·8 - 0·9 + 0·2
30 99,836 - 2·8 - 2·8 - 2·6 - 2·0 - 1·1 0·0

Several expedients have been employed to facilitate and abridge the

manipulations. In the first place, the phials for testing or assaying the
specimens of silver should all be of the same height and of the same diameter.
They should be numbered at their top, as well as on their stoppers, in the order
1, 2, 3, &c. They may be ranged successively in tens; the stoppers of the same
series being placed on a support in their proper order. Each two phials should, in
their turn, be placed in a japanned tin case (fig. 90.) with ten compartments
duly numbered. These compartments are cut out anteriorly to about half their
height, to allow the bottoms of the bottles to be seen. When each phial has
received its portion of alloy, through a wide-beaked funnel, there must be
poured into it about 10 grammes of nitric acid, of specific gravity 1·28, with a
pipette, containing that quantity; it is then exposed to the heat of a water bath,
in order to facilitate the solution of the alloy. The water bath is an oblong vessel
made of tin plate, intended to receive the phials. It has a moveable double
bottom, pierced with small holes, for the purpose of preventing the phials being
broken, as it insulates them from the bottom to which the heat is applied. The
solution is rapid; and, since it emits nitrous vapours in abundance, it ought to be
carried on under a chimney.
The agitator.—Fig. 91. gives a sufficiently exact idea of it, and may dispense
with a lengthened description. It has ten cylindrical compartments, numbered
from 1 to 10. The phials, after the solution of the alloy, are arranged in it in the
order of their numbers. The agitator is then placed within reach of the pipette,
intended to measure out the normal solution of sea salt, and a pipette full of
this solution is put into each phial. Each is then closed with its glass stopper,
previously dipped in pure water. They are fixed in the cells of the agitator by
wooden wedges. The agitator is then suspended to a spring R, and, seizing it
with the two hands, the operator gives an alternating rapid movement, which
agitates the solution, and makes it, in less than a minute, as limpid as water.
This movement is promoted by a spiral spring, B, fixed to the agitator and the
ground; but this is seldom made use of, because it is convenient to be able to
transport the agitator from one place to another. When the agitation is finished,
the wedges are to be taken out, and the phials are placed in order upon a table
furnished with round cells destined to receive them, and to screen them from
too free a light.
When we place the phials upon this table, we must give them a brisk circular
motion, to collect the chloride of silver scattered round their sides; we must lift
out their stoppers, and suspend them in wire rings, or pincers. We next pour a
thousandth of the decime solution into each phial; and before this operation is
terminated, there is formed in the first phials, when there should be a
precipitate, a nebulous stratum, very well marked, of about a centimetre in
thickness.
At the back of the table there is a black board divided into compartments
numbered from 1 to 10, upon each of which we mark, with chalk, the
thousandths of the decime liquor put into the correspondent phial. The
thousandths of sea salt, which indicate an augmentation of standard, are
preceded by the sign +, and the thousandths of nitrate of silver by the sign -.
When the assays are finished, the liquor of each phial is to be poured into a
large vessel, in which a slight excess of sea salt is kept; and when it is full, the
supernatant clear liquid must be run off with a syphon.
The chloride of silver may be reduced without any perceptible loss. After having
washed it well, we immerse pieces of iron or zinc into it, and add sulphuric acid
in sufficient quantity to keep up a feeble disengagement of hydrogen gas. The
mass must not be touched. In a few days the silver is completely reduced. This
is easily recognised by the colour and nature of the product; or by treating a
small quantity of it with water of ammonia, we shall see whether there be any
chloride unreduced; for it will be dissolved by the ammonia, and will afterwards
appear upon saturating the ammonia with an acid. The chlorine remains
associated with the iron or the zinc in a state of solution. The first washings of
the reduced silver must be made with an acidulous water, to dissolve the oxide
of iron which may have been formed, and the other washings with common
water. After decanting the water of the last washing, we dry the mass, and add
a little powdered borax to it. It must be now fused. The silver being in a bulky
powder is to be put in successive portions into a crucible as it sinks down. The
heat should be at first moderate; but towards the end of the operation it must
be pretty strong to bring into complete fusion the silver and the scoriæ, and to
effect their complete separation. In case it should be supposed that the whole
of the silver had not been reduced by the iron or zinc, a little carbonate of
potash should be added to the borax. The silver may also be reduced by
exposing the chloride to a strong heat, in contact with chalk and charcoal.
The following remarks by M. Gay Lussac, the author of the above method, upon
the effect of a little mercury in the humid assay, are important:—
It is well known that chloride of silver blackens the more readily as it is exposed
to an intense light, and that even in the diffused light of a room, it becomes
soon sensibly coloured. If it contains four to five thousandths of mercury, it does
not blacken; it remains of a dead white: with three thousandths of mercury,
there is no marked discolouring in diffused light; with two thousandths it is
slight; with one it is much more marked, but still it is much less intense than
with pure chloride. With half a thousandth of mercury the difference of colour is
not remarkable, and is perceived only in a very moderate light.
But when the quantity of mercury is so small that it cannot be detected by the
difference of colour in the chloride of silver, it may be rendered quite evident by
a very simple process of concentration. Dissolve one gramme of the silver
supposed to contain 1⁄4 of a thousandth of mercury, and let only 1⁄4 of it be
precipitated, by adding only 1⁄4 of the common salt necessary to precipitate it
entirely. In thus operating, the 1⁄4 thousandth of mercury is concentrated in a
quantity of chloride of silver four times smaller: it is as if the silver having been
entirely precipitated, four times as much mercury, equal to two thousandths,
had been precipitated with it.
In taking two grammes of silver, and precipitating only 1⁄4 by common salt, the
precipitate would be, with respect to the chloride of silver, as if it amounted to
four thousandths. By this process, which occupies only five minutes, because
exact weighing is not necessary, 1⁄10 of a thousandth of mercury may be
detected in silver.
It is not useless to observe, that in making those experiments the most exact
manner of introducing small quantities of mercury into a solution of silver, is to
weigh a minute globule of mercury, and to dissolve it in nitric acid, diluting the
solution so that it may contain as many cubic centimetres as the globule weighs
of centigrammes. Each cubic centimetre, taken by means of a pipette, will
contain one milligramme of mercury.
If the ingot of silver to be assayed is found to contain a greater quantity of
mercury, one thousandth for example, the humid process ought either to be
given up in this case, or to be compared with cupellation.
When the silver contains mercury, the solution from which the mixed chlorides
are precipitated, does not readily become clear.
Silver containing mercury, put into a small crucible and mixed with lamp black,
to prevent the volatilization of the silver, was heated for three quarters of an
hour in a muffle, but the silver increased sensibly in weight. This process for
separating the mercury, therefore, failed. It is to be observed, that mercury is
the only metal which has thus the power of disturbing the analysis by the humid
way.
Assaying of Gold.—In estimating or expressing the fineness of gold, the whole
mass spoken of is supposed to weigh 24 carats of 12 grains each, either real, or
merely proportional, like the assayer’s weights; and the pure gold is called fine.
Thus, if gold be said to be 23 carats fine, it is to be understood, that in a mass,
weighing 24 carats, the quantity of pure gold amounts to 23 carats.
In such small work as cannot be assayed by scraping off a part and cupelling it,
the assayers endeavour to ascertain its fineness or quality by the touch. This is
a method of comparing the colour and other properties, of a minute portion of
the metal, with those of small bars, the composition of which is known. These
bars are called touch needles, and they are rubbed upon a smooth piece of
black basaltes or pottery, which, for this reason, is called the touchstone. Black
flint slate will serve the same purpose. Sets of gold needles may consist of pure
gold; of pure gold, 231⁄2 carats with 1⁄2 carat of silver; 23 carats of gold with
one carat of silver; 221⁄2 carats of gold with 11⁄2 carat of silver; and so on, till
the silver amounts to four carats; after which the additions may proceed by
whole carats. Other needles may be made in the same manner, with copper
instead of silver; and other sets may have the addition, consisting either of
equal parts of silver and copper, or of such proportions as the occasions of
business require. The examination by the touch may be advantageously
employed previous to quartation, to indicate the quantity of silver necessary to
be added.
In foreign countries, where trinkets and small work are required to be submitted
to the assay of the touch, a variety of needles is necessary; but they are not
much used in England. They afford, however, a degree of information which is
more considerable than might at first be expected. The attentive assayer
compares not only the colour of the stroke made upon the touchstone by the
metal under examination, with that produced by his needle, but will likewise
attend to the sensation of roughness, dryness, smoothness, or greasiness,
which the texture of the rubbed metal excites, when abraded by the stone.
When two strokes perfectly alike in colour are made upon the stone, he may
then wet them with aquafortis, which will affect them very differently, if they be
not similar compositions; or the stone itself may be made red-hot by the fire, or
by the blowpipe, if thin black pottery be used; in which case the phenomena of
oxidation will differ, according to the nature and quantity of the alloy. Six
principal circumstances appear to affect the operation of parting; namely, the
quantity of acid used in parting, or in the first boiling; the concentration of this
acid; the time employed in its application; the quantity of acid made use of in
the reprise, or second operation; its concentration; and the time during which it
is applied. From experiment it has been shown, that each of these unfavourable
circumstances might easily occasion a loss of from the half of a thirty-second
part of a carat, to two thirty-second parts. The assayers explain their technical
language by observing, that in the whole mass consisting of twenty-four carats,
this thirty-second part denotes 1-768th part of the mass. It may easily be
conceived, therefore, that if the whole six circumstances were to exist, and be
productive of errors, falling the same way, the loss would be very considerable.
It is therefore indispensably necessary, that one uniform process should be
followed in the assays of gold; and it is a matter of astonishment, that such an
accurate process should not have been prescribed by government for assayers,
in an operation of such great commercial importance, instead of every one
being left to follow his own judgment. The process recommended in the old
French official report is as follows:—twelve grains of the gold intended to be
assayed must be mixed with thirty grains of fine silver, and cupelled with 108
grains of lead. The cupellation must be carefully attended to, and all the
imperfect buttons rejected. When the cupellation is ended, the button must be
reduced, by lamination, into a plate of 11⁄2 inches, or rather more, in length,
and four or five lines in breadth. This must be rolled up upon a quill, and placed
in a matrass capable of holding about three ounces of liquid, when filled up to
its narrow part. Two ounces and a half of very pure aquafortis, of the strength
of 20 degrees of Baumé’s areometer, must then be poured upon it; and the
matrass being placed upon hot ashes, or sand, the acid must be kept gently
boiling for a quarter of an hour: the acid must then be cautiously decanted, and
an additional quantity of 11⁄2 ounces must be poured upon the metal, and
slightly boiled for twelve minutes. This being likewise carefully decanted, the
small spiral piece of metal must be washed with filtered river water, or distilled
water, by filling the matrass with this fluid. The vessel is then to be reversed, by
applying the extremity of its neck against the bottom of a crucible of fine earth,
the internal surface of which is very smooth. The annealing must now be made,
after having separated the portion of water which had fallen into the crucible;
and, lastly, the annealed gold must be weighed. For the certainty of this
operation, two assays must be made in the same manner, together with a third
assay upon gold of twenty-four carats, or upon gold the fineness of which is
perfectly and generally known.
No conclusion must be drawn from this assay, unless the latter gold should
prove to be of the fineness of twenty-four carats exactly, or of its known degree
of fineness; for, if there be either loss or surplus, it may be inferred, that the
other two assays, having undergone the same operation, must be subject to the
same error. The operation being made according to this process by several
assayers, in circumstances of importance, such as those which relate to large
fabrications, the fineness of the gold must not be depended upon, nor
considered as accurately known, unless all the assayers have obtained an
uniform result, without communication with each other. This identity must be
considered as referring to the accuracy of half the thirty-second part of a carat.
For, notwithstanding every possible precaution or uniformity, it very seldom
happens that an absolute agreement is obtained between the different assays of
one and the same ingot; because the ingot itself may differ in its fineness in
different parts of its mass.
The phenomena of the cupellation of gold are the same as of silver, only the
operation is less delicate, for no gold is lost by evaporation or penetration into
the bone-ash, and therefore it bears safely the highest heat of the assay
furnace. The button of gold never vegetates, and need not therefore be drawn
out to the front of the muffle, but may be left at the further end till the assay is
complete. Copper is retained more strongly by gold than it is by silver; so that
with it 16 parts of lead are requisite to sweat out 1 of copper; or, in general,
twice as much lead must be taken for the copper alloys of gold, as for those of
silver. When the copper is alloyed with very small quantities of gold, cupellation
would afford very uncertain results; we must then have recourse to liquid
analysis.
M. Vauquelin recommends to boil 60 parts of nitric acid at 22° Baumé, on the
spiral slip or cornet of gold and silver alloy, for twenty-five minutes, and replace
the liquid afterwards by acid of 32°, which must be boiled on it for eight
minutes. This process is free from uncertainty when the assay is performed
upon an alloy containing a considerable quantity of copper. But this is not the
case in assaying finer gold; for then a little silver always remains in the gold.
The surcharge which occurs here is 2 or 3 thousandths; this is too much, and it
is an intolerable error when it becomes greater, which often happens. This evil
may be completely avoided by employing the following process of M. Chaudet.
He takes 0·500 of the fine gold to be assayed; cupels it with 1·500 of silver, and
1·000 of lead; forms, with the button from the cupel, a riband or strip three
inches long, which he rolls into a cornet. He puts this into a mattrass with acid
at 22° B., which he boils for 3 or 4 minutes. He replaces this by acid of 32° B.,
and boils for ten minutes; then decants off, and boils again with acid of 32°,
which must be finally boiled for 8 or 10 minutes.
Gold thus treated is very pure. He washes the cornet, and puts it entire into a
small crucible permeable to water; heats the crucible to dull redness under the
muffle, when the gold assumes the metallic lustre, and the cornet becomes
solid. It is now taken out of the crucible and weighed.
When the alloy contains platinum, the assay presents greater difficulties. In
general, to separate the platinum from the gold with accuracy, we must avail
ourselves of a peculiar property of platinum; when alloyed with silver, it
becomes soluble in nitric acid. Therefore, by a proper quartation of the alloy by
cupellation, and boiling the button with nitric acid, we may get a residuum of
pure gold. If we were to treat the button with sulphuric acid, however, we
should dissolve nothing but the silver. The copper is easily removed by
cupellation. Hence, supposing that we have a quaternary compound of copper,
silver, platinum, and gold, we first cupel it, and weigh the button obtained; the
loss denotes the copper. This button, treated by sulphuric acid, will suffer a loss
of weight equal to the amount of silver present. The residuum, by quartation
with silver and boiling with nitric acid, will part with its platinum, and the gold
will remain pure. For more detailed explanations, see Platinum.

ATOMIC WEIGHTS or ATOMS, are the primal quantities in which the different
objects of chemistry, simple or compound, combine with each other, referred to
a common body, taken as unity. Oxygen is assumed by some philosophers, and
hydrogen by others, as the standard of comparison. Every chemical
manufacturer should be thoroughly acquainted with the combining ratios which
are, for the same two substances, not only definite, but multiple; two great
truths, upon which are founded not merely the rationale of his operations, but
also the means of modifying them to useful purposes. The discussion of the
doctrine of atomic weights, or prime equivalents, belongs to pure chemistry; but
several of its happiest applications are to be found in the processes of art, as
pursued upon the greatest scale. For many instructive examples of this
proposition, the various chemical manufactures may be consulted in this
Dictionary.

ATTAR OF ROSES. See Oils, Volatile, and Perfumery.

AURUM MUSIVUM. Mosaic gold, a preparation of tin; which see.

AUTOMATIC, a term which I have employed to designate such
economic arts as are carried on by self-acting machinery. The word
“manufacture,” in its etymological sense, means any system, or objects
of industry, executed by the hands; but in the vicissitude of language,
it has now come to signify every extensive product of art which is
made by machinery, with little or no aid of the human hand, so that the
most perfect manufacture is that which dispenses entirely with manual
labour.[4] It is in our modern cotton and flax mills that automatic
operations are displayed to most advantage; for there the elemental
powers have been made to animate millions of complex organs,
infusing into forms of wood, iron, and brass, an intelligent agency. And
as the philosophy of the fine arts, poetry, painting, and music, may be
best studied in their individual master-pieces, so may the philosophy of
manufactures in these its noblest creations.[5]
[4] Philosophy of Manufactures, p. 1.
[5] Ibid., p. 2.

The constant aim and effect of these automatic improvements in the

arts are philanthropic, as they tend to relieve the workmen either from
niceties of adjustment, which exhaust his mind and fatigue his eyes, or
from painful repetition of effort, which distort and wear out his frame.
A well arranged power-mill combines the operation of many work-
people, adult and young, in tending with assiduous skill, a system of
productive machines continuously impelled by a central force. How
vastly conducive to the commercial greatness of a nation, and the
comforts of mankind, human industry can become, when no longer
proportioned in its results to muscular effort, which is by its nature
fitful and capricious, but when made to consist in the task of guiding
the work of mechanical fingers and arms regularly impelled, with equal
precision and velocity, by some indefatigable physical agent, is
apparent to every visitor of our cotton, flax, silk, wool, and machine
factories. This great era in the useful arts is mainly due to the genius of
Arkwright. Prior to the introduction of his system, manufactures were
every where feeble and fluctuating in their development; shooting forth
luxuriantly for a season, and again withering almost to the roots like
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