250 THE ANIMALS AND MAN 



oceans reach a length (males) of eighty feet, of which the 

 head forms nearly one-third. Of the whalebone whales, 

 the sulphur-bottom (Balcenoptera sulfurea) of the Pacific 

 Ocean, reaching a length of nearly one hundred feet, is 

 the largest, and hence the largest of all living animals. 

 The common large whale of the Eastern coast and North 

 Atlantic is the right whale (Balcena glacialis) ; a near relative 

 is the great bowhead (B. mysticetus) of the Arctic seas, the 

 most valuable of all whales to man. Whales are hunted for 

 their whalebone and the oil yielded by their fat or blubber. 

 The story of whale-fishing is an extremely interesting one, 

 the great size and strength of the "game" making the "fish- 

 ing" a hazardous business. 



The hoofed mammals (Ungulata) .- -The order Ungu- 

 lata includes some of the most familiar mammal forms. 

 Most of the domestic animals, as the horse, cow, hog, sheep, 

 and goat, belong to this order, as well as the familiar deer, 

 antelope, and buffalo of our own land and the elephant, 

 rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, camel, zebra, etc., familiar 

 in zoological gardens and menageries. The order is a 

 large one, its members being characterized by the presence 

 of from one to four hooves, which are the enlarged and 

 thickened claws of the toes. The Ungulates are all herbiv- 

 orous, and have their molar teeth fitted for grinding, the 

 canines being absent or small. The order is divided into 

 the Perissodactyla or odd-toed forms, like the horse, zebra, 

 tapir, and rhinocerus, and the Artiodactyla or even-toed 

 forms, like the oxen, sheep, deer, camels, pigs, and hippo- 

 potami. The Artiodactyls comprise two groups, the Ru- 

 minants and Non-ruminants. All of the native Ungulata 

 of our Northern States belong to the Ruminants, so called 

 because of their habit of chewing a cud. A ruminant 

 first presses its food into a ball, swallows it into a particular 

 one of the divisions of its four-chambered stomach, and 

 later regurgitates it into the mouth, thoroughly masticates 



