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
The monsters of the Shark family, fortunately for us, live in warm seas, and so are not often found near the shores of Great Britain. But our seas contain smaller Sharks of various kinds, and in greater number than most people imagine.