The following is my translation of an article called: Skelett des Bartenwals by K.F. It appeared in a German popular science magazine, Kosmos Handweiser für Naturfreunde 1914, Heft 7, Seiten 194-195.
In German, baleen whales, eg. the Blue whale, are frequently called Bartenwale, and that literally translates as 'bearded whales'. The baleen form a filter system in the mouth, and that's the 'beard' being referred to. I've introduced paragraphs in line with my own judgement, as the original article provides no indication of any. It's probable the author was Dr Kurt Floericke, although only the initials are mentioned.
I'm not aware of any previous translation.
Trevor Dykes.

The skeleton of the baleen whale by K.F.
The body plan of the largest animals presently living on Earth, the whales, despite its enormous dimensions and plump appearance, is so finely adapted to a life in the seas, and one can only correctly understand this when one takes a closer look at the skeleton; it can immediately be seen in clear ways from the characteristic cigar-shape, and this enables them to cut quickly through the ocean waves. The loose, wide-celled structure of the bones of the whale skeleton is a notable point, and these bones are saturated with liquid fat which significantly reduces the weight of the mighty scaffolding. The thick cushion of blubber beneath the skin is partly there to serve the same purpose, as the specific weight of whales is comparatively low as an adaptation for aquatic life. Nevertheless, a good baleen whale is a 100,000kg.

The skull, of which the brain capsule presses entirely against the facial part, is characterised by its monstrous dimensions, as it provides a third of the entire body length. Most of its elements remain unfused throughout the life time, namely the two colossal, rib-like mandibles of the lower jaw and the bony connection of the chin. A short arc is produced as the lower snout is almost spoon-shaped, and this provides space for the strongly grown, thickly fleshed tongue. As the neck joint has been positioned at the strongly bent, rear main area, the skull is held on a similar line to the back bone. Superficially, there appears to be no neck, and it continues immediately on from the torso, and this is because the short neck vertebrae have shrunk together down to short rings, and have partly grown into one another. The various kinds of spine bones are not sharply distinct, and transist into one another; their thorn-like process is noticeably high, namely in the region of the centre of the back. The inside of the mouth is completely filled by the confusion of the so called beards, known as a resource for fish ivory. Although it can be read in some natural history books that these beards represent the teeth, that is actually a completely false statement as, according neither to analogy, construction or attachment, they do not have the least similarity with teeth. The presence of genuine tooth pulps as bony bodies in the gum of both jaws of unborn whales also attests decisively against such an interpretation. The baleen are much more a feature that has developed only with whales. They sit close together as three-sided horn plates arranged into two rows along an inch thick band of skin, thickly supplied with numerous blood vessels, they are always only soft tissue and not immediately attached to the skull bones, and become smaller beyond the middle reaching forwards towards the gullet. Their number is 300-360, and the largest are up to four metres long. Along the keel-like, raised middle of the gum these plates become gradually sharper, whereas their blunt ends to the edge of the mouth are like vertical horn sticks. The exposed edge of the length of each baleen plate is divided into horny threads, and these threads give something of the impression of a broom or a long handled brush. In order to eat, the whale only needs to open its monstrous mouth and then shut it again, and then force the water to both sides through the baleen under the pressure of its tongue (some species have special furrows at the end), and the countless small animals in it will be caught between the threads and can be swallowed.

These giants of the ocean feed themselves from very small, mostly hardly pea-sized crabs and mussel animals. Of course, 1,200 litres are required to fill the stomach of a whale. This is evidence for the inexhaustible fertility of the salty flood. Herrings are the largest prey animals of baleen whales. The noticeably narrow throat prevents any larger foodstuff.

The ribs of whales are mostly 'false', in that only the first pair are directly connected with the breast bone. This, in conjunction with the cartilage plates pressed in between the spines, lends elasticity to the skeleton of the whale, and provides better resistance to the enormous water pressure, as it would be compressed together if it were like that of land mammals. Of the hips and rear limbs remain only tiny relics of bones that, furthermore, are poorly defined and melted together, and they lie free from the musculature with no connection with the rest of the skeleton. The front limbs have short upper arms and widened lower arms with many bones in each finger, and these have grown together as a mighty plate, and this results in a rudder organ which, to a certain extent, also serves as a breast fin that appears undivided externally, and it can only be moved as a complete unit by the strongly developed shoulder joint.

An index of more of my translations of old Kosmos articles can be found at:

Kosmos Translations Archive

A number of Mesozoic (and post-Mesozoic) location summaries can be found at Localities.