Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Whale Spout Composition and Olfaction Uncertainty

The whale’s only nose-equivalent is the spout-hole itself. If the spout mixed water with the expelled breath, the sense of smell would necessarily be clogged and obliterated. However, because it remains uncertain whether the spout is water or vapor, no absolute conclusion can be reached about the whale’s olfactory capabilities. The sperm whale has no proper olfactories, though this poses no problem for a creature needing no roses, violets, or perfume in the sea.

Spouting Canal Anatomy and Whale Vocalization

The whale’s windpipe opens exclusively into the spouting canal—a tube running horizontally just beneath the upper surface of the head, resembling a city gas pipe. This canal features valvular locks that retain air and exclude water. Since the windpipe connects only to this canal rather than to the mouth, the whale possesses no voice, though when it rumbles, one might say it talks through its nose. The author muses that profound beings rarely have much to say to the world unless forced to stammer something for a living.

Challenges to Identifying Whale Spout Composition

Though the mouth indirectly communicates with the spouting canal, this cannot be proven to serve water discharge, since sperm whales feed far beneath the surface where spouting is impossible. When unmolested, the timing of the whale’s jets precisely matches ordinary respiration periods. Yet the spout’s true nature remains elusive: when close enough to observe it, the whale is in prodigious commotion with water cascading all around. The central body of the spout hides within mist, and it proves impossible to tell whether any water falls from it, whether drops are condensed vapor, or whether they come from moisture lodged in the spout-hole fissure—which always holds a small basin of water even when the whale swims calmly in sunshine.