Narwhal, or Sea-unicorn, with a wonderful tusk, which is really a big tooth, some six feet long. Another one, the Bottle-nose Whale, has a long, narrow "beak," and is sometimes washed up on our shores. The Pilot Whale is also seen in herds in our seas.

Another visitor, the Rorqual, is not welcomed by the fishermen. This big fellow follows the shoals of Mackerel and Herring. He lives on them, swallowing as many at each gulp as would fill several big baskets. The fishermen can spare him the fish. But it is another matter when he swims through valuable nets, tearing through them as if they were so much cobweb.

The commonest Whale of our seas is that small one, the Common Dolphin, who is a midget some five or six feet long. You may have seen Dolphins, for they swim near the surface, and may often be noticed not far from the shore. Like the Rorquals, they follow the Herring and Mackerel shoals. Now and again they dash into the nets, and are shown in the fish-market.

EXERCISES

1. Describe how the Whale breathes. 2. What food do the Sperm and Greenland Whales eat? 3. How does the Greenland Whale eat its food? 4, Give the names of five kinds of Whale.

LESSON VII

TIGERS OF THE SEA